Blood and Steel
by BetterinTexas
Summary: Vampires have always had an advantage over humans. Stronger, faster, deadlier. Bella Swan of all people knows this. A visit from an old friend from Phoenix shows her the advantage may be gone. Now with a new love, a new partner and a special forces team it is time to show the vampire world they no longer have the advantage. Reckoning is coming. Bella/Connolly story.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own the Twlight characters or the Twilight story. The OCs and plot are mine.

A/N- Okay welcome back. This is the Bella Connolly story. It is not a reimagining of THSB. I won't take that story off because when I looked at it I saw it had damn near 500 reviews which is amazing considering it had 38 when it was first finished. Taking it away would be taking those reviews away and I don't want to do that to my readers. I value reviews and don't want to see any go. (except the anonymous ones who call me bad names. Those can go). This story will have a different plot and very different vampires. The story starts out after the newborn battle and Bella decides to run rather than turn. The vampires… okay let me tell you about them. They are the same as Twilight with a few differences. They are strong and fast, probably not as incredibly fast and strong as in the movies (that was like Flash fast and Hulk strong which I never understood. I guess it looked cool. I prefer Underworld vamps myself. These vamps can walk in direct sunlight without sparkling but they are much weaker in direct sunlight. They are pale and seem to be translucent in direct sunlight as well and it is easier for people to tell they are different. The red eyes gold eyes thing stay the same. This is why they stay mostly in cloudy places or underground castles, caves, crypts. Also there is a bit of difference in Bella and Edward's relationship. In this story vampires have fangs and can drink without killing. The only way to turn a vampire is to have him or her drink their blood/venom. I think that's it so far. The rest of the backstory will be explained during the story.

Nairobi, Kenya

The Seal Team was broken but still intact, no casualties so far. Intelligence had once again underestimated the amount of resistance the team would be facing.

At the moment the men were outnumbered three to one. Their objective, Dr. Daniella Carlos, a doctor from the US, who had been providing medical care for the poor and occasionally providing the CIA with information on the movements of the Sudanese Militia.

The objective was in a three story building on the second floor. Four guards were on the first floor, six on the second, including the chief interrogator, who was responsible for the ongoing torture she had survived the last three days, and three guards were on the top floor. The building was surrounded by Seals taking cover where they could find it in streets and buildings.

In between the Seals and the objective were 30 militia members surrounding the building. The ten Seals had been in a firefight since dawn. Three had been wounded but still fought. There had been 56 men surrounding the building.

The Commander of the team, Lieutenant Commander Jason Connolly knelt in front of a blown out window surveying the situation.

"Where the hell is our back up?" Parks, an operator for six years, asked him.

"Got caught in an ambush on the way in. Choppers can't get in to take out the anti aircraft weapons without causing serious collateral damage. The building will take damage and that puts the objective at risk. Our job is to get her out safe and alive. Otherwise what are we doing here?" Connolly explained.

"It's a good point. What are we doing here? She is one person who is, in my opinion, severely fucked. The CIA had to know when she was taken they wouldn't get her back. Hell, aid workers not working for the CIA get killed here all the time." Parks argued.

"You know what your problem is Parks? You are a glass half empty kind of guy. I think this is doable You need some imagination. We just have to wait until night. Besides she is one of ours. She is an American and we are getting her back, alive. Just relax. I'll be damned if I am letting these back woods desert dwellers to take one of our own and torture and kill one of ours."

"Even if we take out everybody in the streets and move in on the building they are just going to kill her if they think they are going to be overrun."

"Exactly. That's why we have to be sneaky." Jason said with confidence.

"Sneaky?"

"Yeah sneaky. To sneak, be invisible. You know the definition right? You are ruining my good mojo here Parks. Can't you feel it? Death is in the air and we are about to deal it. Go to the other side and check if any of these little fuckers with AKs are trying to flank us. I'm going to need an escape route and can't have us surrounded fighting behind and in front."

"Yes sir."

Parks ran to the other side of the abandoned office building as Connolly put the field scope down. Parks was a good officer. He was just cautious with his men's life. Connolly was as well. That was why he planned to risk his own.

He unwrapped the bandages on his left calf muscle and checked the wound. The bullet had gone clean through but the wound had not closed.

Still it didn't look infected. The problem was mobility. He would need to be fast and parts of the muscle were torn from the bone. Taking a fresh bandage out of his pack and a roll of duct tape he began wrapping his calf tightly, careful not to cut off blood flow but tight enough to ensure if the muscle wouldn't help him, it also wouldn't hamper him anymore than necessary.

Connolly had a plan. He estimated the chances of success were about ten percent but he also felt in his heart that as night fell they would kill the doctor and run. Even outnumbered those men knew the night belonged to the Seals. He would have ten minutes after sundown at most to pull this off.

Connolly knew who he needed to talk to.

"God are you listening?"

"God is listening." A voice replied through the radio. Tyrone Gavin, code name God, as he insisted for this mission, was perched on top of a building a half mile away peering through the scope of a Barrett .50 Caliber rifle. Connolly only let him have the code name because he lost a bet on The Texan's game. Both being from Texas, Ty happened to be a Cowboy's fan. Ty was a big guy, taller than Connolly by three inches and lean but muscular. He was able to handle the weapon with ease, in addition to being a hell of a sniper.

"Go to secure frequency 4. I got a plan."

"Yeah I was afraid of that."

The sun fell below the horizon and the city became eerily quiet. The militants in were no longer cheering on the street at their defense of the building.

"Team stay behind cover but do not stop firing. If you don't have a target find one. Take AKs off bad guys if you need more ammo. Keep the fighting outside and don't stop firing." Connolly ordered.

The Seals began firing into the streets North and South of the building. The enemy despite having the numbers could only fire blindly in the direction they thought the shots were coming from due to the darkness. The problem was the gunshots seemed to be coming from everywhere.

On the East side of the building a few guards ran to help their comrades. Six stayed behind, grateful the Americans did not seem to be advancing on their side.

Until Ty Gavin blew one of the thugs head to a bloody mess.

Connolly ran out of the darkness Berretta 9 Millimeter in his hand. He fired 4 shots, hitting four targets. The other two, still in shock from the brash charge of the black clad American stood in shock until more .50 caliber rounds struck, causing one's head to disappear and one's chest to explode inward.

The shots were lost in the gunfire from the North and South and Connolly made entry into the building alone. Placing his weapon away he pulled a black K Bar knife from his back. He could not afford to fire a gun and alert the guards to his presence inside the building yet.

The first floor was easy. They never heard or saw him move from behind.

By the time he crossed the room his knife was bloody and four bodies lay on the floor with throats cut. Not one had made a sound.

Taking the stairs quietly he took the M 4 rifle slung over his back and prepared for close quarters. Once he reached the second floor, stealth was out the window. He had to move fast, without hesitation. Pick a target, fire, repeat and don't miss.

Connolly slid up the wall next to the opening. Inside, hanging from the ceiling, was the objective. He chanced a look into the opening and saw she was in bad shape. Hands and feet were both broken judging by the angles. She was hanging by her wrists. Her face was swollen and by the way her chest was struggling for breath she would give out and suffocate soon.

She didn't have that long. One of the men was approaching her with a knife.

Connolly didn't speak Sudanese. He didn't need to. The men knew their chances of escaping alive were dwindling by the minute with every enemy his Seals killed outside. They would kill her and leave.

Connolly moved quickly stepping inside the room. He killed two men in the first four seconds. A bullet struck his vest and he took that shooter out, ignoring the pain of the cracked rib, refusing to go down.

The interrogator moved towards the objective knife in his hand.

Connolly stepped in front and blocked the blade an inch from the doctor with his forearm. Turning in a circular motion he broke the man's neck and let him drop to the ground.

Four dead.

Two left. Shit.

He turned to see one of the men had hit the ground. The other stood, rifle pointed at him. If he dove the doctor would be hit.

Connolly fired at the man on the ground, while taking another shot in the vest at close range. He hit the ground on his knees.

The soldier who shot him stood over him. Luckily his rifle was aimed at Connolly's head and not the doctor.

"Could use a little help here God." Connolly whispered.

"Say your prayers all you want American…"

The man's words were cut off by the round bursting through the old cinder block wall and into his ear.

"Thank you Ty." Connolly said, grateful Ty's rifle had an infrared scope and very large, armor piercing bullets.

"Anytime white boy. Now why don't you get the doctor and get out of there. Those boys on the third are about to come calling. I only can make so many blind perfect shots to save your ass."

"Liar." Connolly said while cutting the doctor down and catching her body in his arms.

"Dr. Carlos? My name is Jason Connolly. I'm with Seal Team 8. We are taking you home. I'm going to have to put you down for a moment on the ground. I have a few more people to kill then we are leaving. Stay down and do your best to play dead if I don't make it back. Understand?"

"It won't be hard." she whispered and then grinned causing Connolly to smile. Tough lady to survive this far. A sense of humor may keep her alive. It always worked for him.

Picking up two AKs' from the ground and blocking out the pain in his body, he ran straight up the stairs.

Screaming as he entered the top floor he began to spray bullets. Ty Gavin's .50 Cal rounds burst through the wall simultaneously. In less than three seconds three bodies lay on the floor dying.

Running back to the second, Connolly was pleased to see none of the retreating militia outside had made it to the second floor. As gently as possible, he placed his own vest on the doctor and lifted her in his arms.

"Status report."

"Militia is retreating. A few made it into the building, a few are still on the ground, burrowed under rocks like roaches ready to show when they see something. Ready for us to make our move?" Parks asked.

"Yep. I'm dropping a stun grenade on the first. When it goes off move in. Soon as I run past you cover me, fall back to the Humvees and then we head to extraction point. I'm gonna be running with the good doctor so watch my back guys."

"No worries LT. I got yo ass covered." Gavin told him.

A flash in the night and a black clad man carrying a woman burst from the building. The Seals broke cover and advanced mowing down everyone in their sights. Gavin unleashed his rifle on the militia below.

84 seconds later, the doctor was in the back of a Humvee and a caravan of three vehicles drove off at a high rate of speed, prepared to fight their way out of the city.

Luck was on their side. They met no further resistance.

An hour later the doctor was in the hands of medics on her way to a Navy hospital ship for treatment and debriefing. An hour later the members of Seal Team 8 who were not being treated for injuries, celebrated outside with a case of Budweiser. The commander of the team was in a med tent having the bullet wound in his leg sewn and bandaged by one medic while another wrapped his ribs.

A man Connolly did not know walked in. He recognized his insignias as a Rear Admiral.

"Forgive me if I don't stand sir." Connolly said, lying back on the cot. "but it has been one hell of a night."

"I'm Rear Admiral Andrew Tomlinson. Congratulations on a successful mission LT. You will most likely be awarded the …"

"I'm good on medals Captain. What brings you out to the sticks?"

"You are being called in."

"Where are we heading next sir?"

Ty Gavin, walked in wearing a Lebron James jersey and a long pair of red shorts. He placed his beer on the floor and saluted the Rear Admiral, surprise on his face at seeing a high ranking officer in the field.

"You are heading to the States." Tomlinson informed him.

"The States sir? This wound will be healed in no time. There is no reason for me to leave my team …"

"You are being replaced as team leader by Parks for the time being. Perhaps permanently. That is all I have been told. That and to get you to Washington immediately."

"A Pentagon debriefing sir?" Jason asked, confused.

"From my understanding you are being called in to meet with the man."

"The man?"

"Yes. The President wants to speak to you. He also wants you to tell me, in your opinion, who the best operator in the US armed forces is."

"I am sir." Connolly answered immediately. Gavin rolled his eyes.

"The most humble as well." Ty murmured.

The Rear Admiral laughed.

"I think he meant second best son. Whoever it is will met you at the White House."

"Damn. You goin to the White House? What the fuck did you do now Jay? I mean sir." Gavin corrected glancing at the Rear Admiral.

Connolly shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea, but guess what? You are comin with me. Pack your gear Gavin. Looks like we are headin to the White House."

_Outside Cheyenne Wyoming._

Chris Jennings woke up in a cold sweat. The vision he had was so intense it caused an urgency that had his heart racing. Looking at the clock he saw it was only 4:30 AM. Still he wouldn't be able to sleep.

His vision had showed him a battle. A group of vampires and shape shifting wolves engaged in a battle with numerous other vampires. A vampire protecting a brown haired girl from a red headed vampire.

The brown haired girl. He knew her name. He just knew. He knew what had to happen. She was enthralled by the vampire protecting her. He had claimed her as his own. But the enthrallment was broken. A relationship with a shifter had damaged the vampire's hold on her. A friendship. Not romantic but one that had her doubting the desire to become one of the undead.

Instead of becoming a vampire she left. Ran. She was hiding now, from the vampire she left and … the Volturi.

She was the one.

Chris took a breath. Getting dressed for the day he brewed a pot of coffee, prepared a hot cup and stepped out onto the porch.

Looking over the ranch he tried to make plans for the day. On any ordinary ranch the day would begin before sunrise.

This was no ordinary ranch though. This was Wonderland. The United States Department of paranormal research. Chris was a shaman. It was his job to guide his charges, entrusted to him by the US Government, to teach them to control that which made them different. Most of the 16 children here were remote viewers. A few who could speak to the dead. One who possessed slight telekenisis, leading her parents to believe she was haunted and leave her in the hands of the Government.

All came to him as children and were raised here. All were brought here because they frightened their parents.

All except two. The chosen two. Twins to wield the twin swords. Samurai swords, Katana's forged thousands of years before the first known Samurai sword was folded on a blacksmith's stone.

The twins were in foster care when he found them, after a vision much like the one he had tonight. The twin swords could not be wielded by anyone since their discovery ten years before. After a few moments of holding one of the swords it became incredibly heavy. Too heavy for a man to lift. The metal held no elements found on Earth.

The twins were able to wield them as if they were weightless. The swords also imparted gifts. The tiny girls, 5'5, 100 pounds were given incredible strength and speed. The strength and speed to fight vampires. The swords were the only weapons known to Chris that could cut a vampire. When the twins were 17, they underwent paramilitary training that improved their hand to hand and firearm skills. Training that made them deadly against enemies other than vampires. Lycans, shifters, skin walkers.

Still they were human.

9 months ago Summer Drake was killed by a vampire. A vampire from the Volturi. Her twin, Winter, survived, wounding the vampires brother, causing the female vampire, her sister's killer to flee. Winter had not recovered from the loss.

With her sister's death, Winter gained new powers. Powers Chris had not been prepared for. With these new gifts and both their grief, the past few months had been difficult. Chris had brought these girls into this life and he had let them down. He loved them as his own children, like the others on this ranch.

Now he had found another human worthy of wielding Summer's sword. The President had informed him of the discovery of a new element, only given a number at this time, H4X1. A metal that could pierce the skin of vampires. Weapons were being developed, a special operations team was being formed. Help was coming for Winter. But without her twin, Winter was lost. She was not as powerful. Not as strong and fast as she had been. The sword sat in Chris's room waiting for… something. Even though he was a Shaman ain in touch with the Earth and the other world's he could not find the answers he needed.

"Did you have the same dream?" Winter asked.

Chris did his best not to let her know she shocked him. She was so quiet.

"If you are talking about Bella Swan then yes."

"You know her?" Winter asked, surprised.

"I know her name. Somehow I know her name. I don't know where she is."

"She can do it, right? She broke the vampire's enthrallment and ran. She can wield Summer's sword."

Winter was not asking a question.

"She can do more Chris. Just like I can. Only her gift is different than mine." She continued.

Chris had not seen this.

"What gift?"

"Bella can protect us. Protect us all from the powers we didn't know vampires had. She met the vampire who killed my sister in The Volturi throne room and again on the field of battle. The bitch couldn't cause her pain. She broke an enthrallment. The vampire with her couldn't read her mind. She can protect us."

Chris was shocked at this revelation. He had seen none of this in the vision.

"You saw this? Because I didn't."

"No. I was …told maybe? You know how it works as much as I do Chris. Whatever happened to me when Summer died … I just know."

Chris simply nodded. Winter attributed the special skills she had as a connection to a soul from the other side. She thought it might be her sister, staying with her rather than crossing over. Chris had never heard of such a thing and believed her gifts were unlocked by the trauma over her sister's death. Still he did not doubt her belief about Bella Swan.

"I know who she is. I have met her before."

Chris was definitely surprised by this.

"Where? When?"

"In Phoenix. Summer and I lived there until you took us our sophomore year. We went to school with her. She was our friend. We lost track of each other once we came here of course but … you know what our life was like. How we … how others … Bella was nice to us. She wasn't afraid to be seen hanging out with us. She was the only one. She didn't care that we were orphans or poor. She is a good person.

"Can you find her?" Chris asked.

"No. But the sword can. I will take Summer's sword and your truck. I will find her and bring her back here."

Chris nodded his head in agreement.

"It will be her choice." he told Winter.

"Of course."

"You aren't going alone."

"Why not?"

"I'm sorry Winter. We lost your sister. I'll be damned if I am losing you too. You go nowhere alone until she is ready. If she is up to it, that is."

"She will be. Let's go."

_Near Los Alamos, New Mexico_

Bella awoke once again from a nightmare. Only this nightmare had been different. Since leaving Forks, she had many recurring nightmares.

Edward had not taken her leaving well. He insisted on knowing her location. She promised to tell him only to have Sam Uley spirit her away in the middle of the night while Paul and Jared distracted Edward and his family outside the Cullen Mansion. She had taken a bus with Sam, choosing the destination at random to avoid Alice's visions. Every choice she made had been random. She avoided looking at any landmarks that could give Alice a clue to her whereabouts. Sam accompanied her in hopes that would also block Alice's visions. Only Sam Uley knew where Bella had gone.

She had moved since then. Moved here to the desert. No city, no town. Just a convenience store on the highway where Bella worked. She lived in a small house and pumped her own water. It was a miserable, difficult existence but one she was willing to live.

To remain human. To keep her soul.

Jacob had shown her the importance of that. Seeing him injured by the vampire had opened her eyes. For the first time she saw a newborn vampire. She had seen what she had so longed to become. She looked into its bloodthirsty eyes as it crushed her best friend and knew. She had been a fool.

She watched the Volturi kill the other. The one vampire, so young, she couldn't have been more than fourteen when Victoria turned her … Bella watched Felix and Demetri tear the girl apart. The one newborn who did not appear to be a monster. Just a human caught up in the monstrosity that was Bella's life.

When Edward had tried to talk Bella out of checking on Jacob she knew. She saw him then with new eyes for the first time, as if a fog had been lifted.

The nightmare that woke her wasn't of Edward drinking her blood as he had in the past when he asked. She never could tell him no. To anything.

It wasn't of Aro arriving at her door and tearing her to pieces. It wasn't of Victoria or James or Laurent.

No this nightmare was different.

In this nightmare she saw a battle. Alec and Jane fighting two girls with swords.

Bella knew these girls. Her friends from what seemed a lifetime ago.

Winter and Summer Drake.

Winter wounded Alec from behind, slicing through his shoulder. Nearly at the same moment, Summer dropped to the ground in agony caused by Jane's stare. Bella saw Jane rip Summer's throat out with her teeth. Summer's sword dropped. That sword. Something seemed so familiar about it, even though Bella knew nothing about weapons.

Winter, who always wore her dark hair cut very short as opposed to her sister, screamed when she saw her identical twin fall. Alec held his shoulder together, black venom leaking out as if blood and ran to his sister. Jane and Alec left, despite Winter screaming at them to come back and fight.

Bella walked to her tiny kitchen and reached for the coffee. She hesitated, opened the cabinet and poured a shot of Jack Daniels instead. Walking to the living room she lit a cigarette and turned on the TV, hoping for some sort of reception from her antenna today.

Sitting back and watching a static filled rerun of the Jeffersons, she tried to relax. Her heart still beat rapidly due to the nightmare. She didn't know why it affected her. She had not thought of her old friends since they moved away her sophomore year. Why her subconscious had conjured a vision of the twins wielding swords like two Valkyries battling Jane and Alec, Bella had no idea. Winter and Summer were two of the nicest girls she had ever know. Looking back Bella knew they were the only real friends she had growing up in Phoenix.

They were orphans from the age of five and moved between foster families, never seeming to stay in one place. The other kids at school picked on them constantly causing Bella to intercede on their behalf many times from a young age. Bella was not popular either but the three stuck together and together they were mostly left alone. The three pale shy girls who sat at lunch in the corner and hung out after school in the park, reading classics or listening to music.

Bella had missed them when they left. That was another determining factor in her decision to move to Forks. After Winter and Summer and left, Bella really had no friends to leave behind.

Bella did not have to work today so she decided to have another shot. Drinking was not something she enjoyed but unable to afford anxiety pills, she found it helped calm her at times.

That sword. It seemed to call to her in her dream. To lift it up and continue to fight.

A knock on the door froze Bella before she could take another shot of whiskey.

No one visited Bella. No one knew where she was. She had no friends. Her little rented house was hidden from the highway.

A person?

A vampire?

In the event the visitor was a person, Bella pulled a small handgun Sam Uley had given her before he left, from the kitchen drawer.

In the event it was a vampire, Bella downed her shot.

Cracking the door so she could keep her gun hidden and see who the visitor was, her heart stopped when she saw Winter Drake.

"Winter?" Bella whispered.

"Bella."

Bella opened the door wider and saw a tall man next to Winter. He was dressed in blue jeans and a faded denim shirt, a straw cowboy hat atop his head. He must have been in his forties but his blue eyes appeared older.

"Who is this?" Bella asked, still in shock at seeing her old friend so suddenly after her dream.

"Chris Jennings. Pleasure to meet you Ms. Swan." The man answered and tipped his hat.

"Where is Summer?" Bella asked, already suspecting the answer.

"She is dead Bella. I really need to talk to you." Winter answered.

"How did you find me? What could you … talk to me about what?"

"About this." Winter answered, pulling a sword Bella just noticed had been strapped to her back. Another still hung there on top of her black leather jacket.

"Oh… I see." Bella barely managed to get out.

"Can we come in?" Chris asked.

Bella nodded her head slowly, coming out of the daze she felt at the appearance of the blade that seemed to almost whisper to her.

"Of course, come in."

The three sat, Bella in a worn red chair she had picked up off the side of the road and Winter and Chris in the old couch across from her that had came with this house.

"So what would you like to talk about?" Bella asked, still staring at the blade in Winter's hand.

It was Chris that answered.

"We were wondering if you would be interested in killing vampires?" Bella sat in silence at the strange man's offer. Kill vampires? That wasn't what she did. She hung out with vampires. Fell in some sort of love with a vampire. Let him sip her blood nightly, fortifying herself on iron pills. When a vampire left her she crashed like an addict landing on a strange planet with no drugs. When he returned she risked her life to save him, promising in a den of evil monsters to become one of them in exchange for both their lives.

And then she ran. Bella was a runner now. A survivor. Not a killer. To kill vampires would take …something she didn't seem to have.

Courage.

Bella lived in fear. Fear of being found, fear of being killed, fear of being a slave to the boy she had thought she loved. Fear of sleep because with sleep came the nightmares. Flashes of her life leading up to what she was now.

A 20 year old scared girl who hid in the desert, smoked way too many cigarettes and drank way to much whiskey. She was thin. She had no muscle tone, no rosy glowing skin. Her eyes were sallow with what seemed to be permanent bags under her eyes. A slight figure that slipped by unnoticed in the world.

"Aren't you tired of being afraid?" Chris asked her, breaking the silence. Bella was instantly alert.

"You can read my mind?" she asked angrily and looked accusingly at her former friend who had somehow tracked her down when so many had failed.

"No. I can read your face. You were enthralled Bella. No human has ever broken that. They either become vampires, slaves or dinner eventually. Somehow you broke that enthrallment but the scars it has left behind are evident on your face. You are frightened. We can help. I can't promise you a long life. I can't promise you a normal life. But I can promise if you come with us, I can show you a life that doesn't require you to live in fear. You may still feel fear, but it won't stop you. Your instincts now tell you to run. They are natural. Human.

I can give you an unnatural life. One where your instincts tell you to fight. Even if it means meeting death. Just as Summer did. I promise you this. You do this and if you die there won't be any scars on your back."

"Jane killed Summer didn't she? Summer had that sword but Jane used her power." Bella stated. She wasn't asking. She knew. She knew her dream had not been a dream at all. It was a memory.

"Yes." Winter confirmed.

"What is that? The sword? It looks Japanese. Like those Samurai guys used to carry. Where did it come from? How can it … your sword Winter. You sliced through Alec's shoulder like he was paper. You shouldn't be able to do that to vampires. They are strong. Fast."

They were death, Bella didn't add. A real physical manifestation of death on Earth. They feasted on life. On blood. Bella knew. She had given enough snacks to Edward.

"Yes I did Bella. But he escaped. I will find him though. I will find him and Jane. I will find and kill them all. But I need your help. These swords are Katana. I have no idea where they came from or how they were forged. All I know is they grant their hosts the spirit and power inside them. I can fight vampires. I am strong. I am fast. And Bella … I am very, very angry. But the swords are the most powerful when both have hosts. Not just anyone can wield one. If an unworthy person holds the sword, it becomes heavy. Too heavy for even a vampire to lift. But you can lift it Bella. You can use it. The two of you … it belonged to Summer. It will belong to you."

"I'm not a fighter Winter. I never was. You know that. We used to hide, remember? Hide in the corners and talk about how nice it would be if we were invisible. No one would notice us. Not that many did but we couldn't be picked on for being different. We couldn't be hurt."

"We are different Bella. We can be hurt. But we can be more. We can fight back."

"What makes you think I can hold that thing? I've been called a lot of things in my life, but worthy? Only a vampire once, told me I was worth it. Looking back on it now I wonder if he meant me as a person or because …"

"Because vampire gifts do not work on you, right Bella?" Chris asked.

Bella nodded.

"I think they wanted me to protect their coven. Aro wants me for the same reason."

"Try it Bella. Try to hold the katana. It won't hurt you. It won't do anything until you accept it. Just try." Winter implored.

"Winter…"

"Try damn it! Stop being a coward and pick up the damn sword Bella!' Winter practically screamed standing up.

"Calm down Winter." Chris told her gently, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding Winter back to her seat.

"Don't come in my house and call me a coward! You have no idea what I have been through, what I have done! How dare you? You don't know shit about me!" Bella yelled back.

"I know you let yourself be tortured because you were tricked into thinking your mother was kidnapped by one of these bastards! I know you cut your arm to save your pussy boyfriend! I know you ran into a den of monsters to save him. I know you weren't a coward when Summer was knocked down by Ricky in fifth grade and you took a baseball bat and hit him in the knees before he could spit on her. You weren't a coward when you left that bastard vampire. What did you leave for? For this? This piece of shit shack in the middle of nowhere? Why? So you can live to be ninety like this? Or drink and smoke yourself to death before you are forty? Why not just save the vampires the trouble and kill yourself if you are too damn scared to live?!"

The two women were now both standing, face to face, inches from each other.

"Pick up the Katana, Bells." Winter whispered. "I need you. Please."

Bella looked down at Winter's hand and saw the blade, handle pointed towards her. The grip appeared to be carved out of bone, it's maker carving it into a long serpent with the dragon's head pointing down.

The pleading in her eyes.

"I need revenge. You need to live. I lost my sister. I need you. Please Bells. Just like on the playground. I was too scared to do anything for Summer then. You weren't. I need you."

Bella reached out and grasped the handle. Wrapping her hand around it she caressed it. It felt so familiar. Winter took her hand away.

The blade was light. Only a small amount of weight, less than a pound.

She waited for the blade to grow heavy. Instead it seemed to become more comfortable in her hand, and she felt a longing for it, just like in her dream. A longing to pick up the blade and kill Jane.

Bella pulled the blade from its black scabbard and held it before her eyes taking in the glint off its very sharp edge.

"Bella before you make any decisions there are some things you need to know…" Chris began. Bella however never took her eyes off Winter.

"I've been making decisions, mostly bad ones, my whole life without knowing what I was getting into. I would hate to break the streak. Besides I'm due for a good decision. My friend needs me." Bella said before Chris could finish.

"I don't know the first thing about sword fighting. I know nothing about fighting at all really." Bella told the two.

"We will teach you. And there are others. This is bigger than just the three of us. The President right now is assembling a task force to assist the two of you. Winter has already undergone military training. You will as well." Chris said.

The President? Bella thought.

"Are you in?" Winter asked.

Bella nodded.

"Say it. Say you will do it. Say you will fight beside me."

"I will fight beside you." Bella said confidently. Winter was right. It was time to stop living in fear.

"That's what I needed to hear." Winter whispered. She pulled her own sword and crossed it with Bella's blade.

A bright light exploded in Bella's vision. Her body went rigid, a feeling of electricity flowing through it. The last thing she felt before blacking out were Chris's arms catching her before she hit the ground


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Wow. What a response. Thanks everybody. I don't know if it will be showing by the time I post this because FFnet makes you wait a while but my friend Mist has knocked it out of the park again with an awesome banner for this story. If anyone is wondering the girl behind Connolly is Winter. You know who Ty is. Anyway congrats to ded1. She remembered an old action movie I payed homage to in the first chapter called Navy Seals. Came out in the 90s when Charlie Sheen was huge and not crazy. A sniper named God shot a guy using infrared through a cinderblock wall. You gotta be careful guys,I throw these things in there. If anyone is wondering about the characters who aren't on the banner I see Jack Webb as Jeremy Renner and Dan Hawk as Dolph Lundgren. Course you are welcome to see them anyway you want ;) Rickie glad to hear your daughter is back from over there. Hope you get to see her soon. Also remember this story is action and supernatural. It is going to go to some exciting places around the world. Hope you continue to enjoy it.

Chapter 2

_Leavenworth Prison_

"He's a big dude." Ty pointed out.

"Yep." Connolly agreed.

"He nearly beat his last commanding office to death. You sure you want to do this?" Ty asked him.

"He nearly beat him to death. He could have killed him if he wanted to. He is not that bad of a guy."

"His service record reads like a mass murderer's rap sheet. He has been in the brig four times in six years for six month stays. If this guy dies he is probably in for life." Ty pointed out.

"Yep. He knows it too. Let's go say hi."

Connolly and Ty walked in and pulled out seats from the table sitting down next to the 6'9, 290 pound slab of muscle known as Dan Hawk. He stared at them blankly, making no comment on their entrance as he sat across from them, arms handcuffed from behind him.

"Could you please remove his cuffs?" Connolly asked an MP.

"Not a good idea sir." The MP replied.

"Good thing I wasn't asking. I am ordering you to remove his cuffs."

The MP shrugged.

"Your funeral."

"Maybe we should listen to the guy." Ty suggested quietly.

"Nah. Mr. Hawk has agreed to see us. We want him as comfortable as possible." Connolly smiled.

Dan Hawk placed his now free hands on the table in front of him. Since Hawk wasn't saying anything Connolly figured he would break the silence.

"Daniel Hawk, former Green Beret. Been promoted to Sergeant twice and demoted four times due to inflicting serious bodily injuries on your commanding officers. Your last officer in Iraq is currently in a coma but showing signs he may make it and live. Does that make you happy Mr. Hawk?"

Hawk said nothing.

"He asked you a question. Where the hell you from boy? They speak English there?" Ty asked.

"I'm from Hell." Dan Hawk answered, speaking for the first time. Connolly smiled.

"See? I told you he would be perfect for us, Ty."

"Crazy motherfucker is what you are Hawk. You from Cleveland. Says so in your file." Ty pointed out.

"Then why did you ask little man?"

"Little man?! Just cause I don't eat steroids the way most people eat Rice Crispies like you, don't mean shit. You want to talk little pull it out and let's see what your pharmaceuticals have done to you, little man."

"Ty let's get on point and leave the comparing of dicks till later. Mr. Hawk I have been authorized by the President of the United States to form a special ops team and offer you a spot on it in exchange for a full pardon. A very different team that will be going against very different enemies, most of whom are stronger than you."

"Bullshit. Stronger than me?" Hawk laughed for the first time.

"I'm not in the bullshit business. Would you be willing to answer a few questions for me or do you have somewhere to be right now?"

"You all about bullshit. This? This right here? Bullshit. When you said we was recruiting I didn't know you were bringin my ass to this place." Ty said quietly to Connolly.

"Ty relax. What about it Mr. Hawk? Could you humor me?"

"Go ahead. As it turns out I don't have a fight scheduled until 2100 in the rec yard. Then when I beat him to dust I plan to spend the next month in solitary to get away from the noise."

"Excellent. Now let's start with why you seem to assault your commanding officers." Jason suggested.

"I haven't found one worth following."

"Been there. But we all have our orders to follow, right?"

"Like you? You are quite well known among your peers Lt Commander Connolly. Don't seem surprised I know who you are. Your legend precedes you. As does your penchant for disregarding orders and taking unnecessary chances."

"As far as unnecessary, I suppose that is in the eye of the beholder. I like to win. The chances I take are on my own. Not with my men's lives."

"That supposed to mean something to me?"

"Why did you nearly kill your last commanding officer?" Connolly asked.

"He gave me an order I wouldn't follow. He tried to carry out the order himself. I didn't agree with his actions so I took matters into my own hand."

"According to the offense report he ordered you to shoot a possible insurgent who had crossed the boundary. You refused. He tried to take your weapon and you beat him nearly to death. Fractured jaw, fractured ribs, broken arm, and cracked skull. Then to top it off, you threw him off the tower near the minefield in front of the compound."

"Yes, I didn't throw him far enough. Does the offense report mention the possible insurgent couldn't have been older than ten? He was chasing a soccer ball."

"So you like kids? That's good." Jason said smiling.

"I don't kill children unless I have to. He wanted to kill them for fun. I had fun with him instead."

"What about the others?" Connolly asked.

"If they were worth following they would have defended themselves better." Hawk answered, shrugging his massive shoulders.

"So if I beat you in a fight you will follow me?" Connolly asked.

Hawk smiled.

"Yes. If you beat me in a fight, hand to hand, I will follow you anywhere. But understand if we do this I will kill you. I will show you no mercy."

"I have never have expected any in my life. No reason to start now. Shall we do this here or the yard? Want witnesses?"

"The yard will work."

"Sure you want the prisoners here to see what I do to you? Because once I do, you won't be able to stay here. You are going to have to come with me."

"I will take my chances. As far as this place? I like it here. Always a fight to find. It suits me."

"Mr. Hawk I need to know we have a deal. I have a calf muscle and some ribs that have barely healed. If I do this I want something out of it. I want your word you will follow me and follow my orders without hesitation."

Dan Hawk smiled inwardly. He along with many others in the military had heard hyped up legends of this man's exploits. They made him seem almost superhuman. Hawk was pleased to find they were merely myth. 6'3 maybe 180 pounds. Jason Connolly was just a man, a man to break. A man who would elevate his status in this hell he called his home.

"We have a deal."

"MP, take us to the yard. We have training to conduct."

The MP once again shrugged his shoulders and opened the door leading them through the smelly metallic corridors to the semi fresh air of the courtyard.

"Jay you don't need to do this man. This fool is crazy."

"He is damn near as strong as vampires Ty. I want him on the team."

"Ain't gonna be no team if you get snapped in half. Just offer him the pardon and he can say no and we can get the fuck out of here. You know when he kills you I'm gonna have to shoot this bastard anyway." Ty argued.

Jason turned around, annoyed.

"Would you fucking relax already? If I wanted to be nagged all the time I would have gotten married."

"Like a woman would have you. We just been through a lot of shit together and I would hate to see it end here. That fucker is crazy. All he cares about is battle."

"Which is why I want him. Now let me do what I do."

Connolly reached the middle of the yard where Hawk stood ten feet away. Hawk pulled off his shirt and Connolly did the same. Milling around in a circle were one hundred or so prisoners not saying a word.

Hawk struck first. Connolly stood where he was and took the roundhouse punch thrown by the giant. He stumbled back a few feet but didn't lose his footing. Hawk smiled and continued circling.

"Not bad. That the best you got or can you hit harder?" Jason asked him.

The smile left Hawk's face and he rushed Connolly. Again Connolly did not move. Hawk's shoulders crashed into him and lifted him in the air. He felt himself flip in the air and land on his back. He tried to stand up only to feel Hawk's boot in his stomach, flipping him in the air once more.

Jason Connolly laughed from the ground where he lay on his back.

"I told you he was strong Ty. Not very skilled though. He telegraphs his moves. Watch."

Hawk struck again with his fist as Connolly got to his feet, this time finding air. He followed with another strike, finding air once more.

"I'm a big fan of Bruce Lee, Hawk. What about you?" Jason asked him circling him, his feet never staying still.

Hawk didn't answer. Instead he leveled a high kick at Connolly's head. The man was no longer there however. Instead Jason had dipped to the ground and swept Hawk's planted leg, causing the man to fall and grab his ankle. Hawk was shocked. The man moved like lightning. Before he could look up a boot had struck him in the jaw.

"You see Bruce said you must be shapeless in a fight. You my friend have a hell of a shape. You are a fucking target. I know how strong you are now. I want to see if you can fight."

Hawk rushed Connolly from the ground only to see the man us Hawk's shoulders to flip over him. When he turned he caught a sidekick directly into his solar plexus, the one area of his chest, not covered with massive muscles. The pain made him clutch his chest.

"Bruce Lee also said to notice how the stiffest tree is the most easily cracked while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind."

Connolly now stood in front of Hawk only two feet away. Hawk swung repeatedly, missing every time while Connolly moved faster than his strikes could be launched. Connolly caught his wrist on the last strike and with a twist, Hawk was on the ground.

Hawk lifted himself off the ground by his arms only to have his arms swept away and his face slammed into the gravel of the yard.

"The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be. You really never seen Enter the Dragon Hawk? It's a Kung Fu classic."

Hawk stood up with a roar and charged. Connolly stepped aside and planted a fist in his left ear. Hawk stumbled but regained his feet. Looking for his enemy he saw only the bottom of a combat boot striking at him like a cobra.

He blacked out but the pain of his crushed nose soon woke him up. He realize he had one leg in the air, wrapped by Connolly's arms. His foot hovered over Hawk's knee.

"I really don't want to break your leg or wreck your knee. That will mean months of rehab and you will be of no use to me then. I need warriors now. You want to come with me or live out your days here crippled? I won't kill you but I will leave you here. The choice is yours to make. Will you follow me?"

Hawk took a deep breath and swallowed the blood in his throat that drained from his broken nose.

"I'll follow you anywhere." He gasped.

"Good." Connolly reached out his hand and the large man took it.

"What do you say we get out of here? We have much to do. Number one is I have to get to Wyoming. You guys are going to Coronado. I have someone to pick up. Then we get to work. You are going to have a lot of reports to go over. The rest of the guys are already studying. We are thousands of years behind the curve but we will catch up. Welcome aboard."

_Wonderland, Cheyenne Wyoming_

Bella Swan screamed in frustration as Winter struck her in the head once more with the bamboo sword.

"Come on Bella. Keep your guard up." Winter told her for at least the twelfth time this morning.

"Why? We aren't going to be fighting vampires with swords. They do not need swords."

"How can you use your blade to kill vampires if you don't know how to handle it?"

"I'm strong and fast right? I just cut their fucking heads off." Bella told her, dropping the sword and walking to a nearby fence post. Taking a cigarette and lighting it, she breathed in the smoke enjoying the smell of the tobacco. There was no alcohol here. The place was like a daycare for kids gifted in the supernatural, the only other adults around being Chris and a few scientists who seemed to genuinely care about the children. Still Bella had her cigarettes to help her relax. The strength and speed the sword had imparted to her when Winter crossed the blades was like a drug to Bella. Still her nerves were constantly on edge and her confidence was sorely lacking.

"Bella you need to quit smoking." Winter said in frustration, throwing her practice weapon to the ground.

"You sure this place can't be discovered? Alice Cullen … her visions…"

"Don't work on you." Winter told her.

"Yes they do." Bella argued.

"If they did, do you think the coven would have risked seeing you almost lost to that rag tag band of nomads? Don't you think she would have seen you leave? At least seen your destiny change from no longer being a vampire?"

"She told me she could…" Bella started.

"Exactly. She lied using the belief that she could see your future to manipulate you. None of their powers worked on you, so Edward enthralled you. Jasper never made you calm. That was the enthrallment. If Aro, Jane and Edwards gifts had no effect on you, then why do you think hers would? Her telling you the future was just another way to control you. How else would you have escaped them so easily to run off to James? She likely found you by having a vision of James in a ballet studio. You feel in love with him voluntarily and let him drink your blood. That is why the enthrallment worked. He never would have been able to force it on you."

"Still there are children here. How do I know my presence won't attract vampires here? If they find me…"

"Then we will deal with it. Together. But Bella they won't find us. Chris has enough wards on this place that no one who does not belong here can find the place. That's why there are no military guards here."

"I'm surprised. Those kids …the CIA will take them all one day right? When they are old enough or have enough control of their gifts. They will go through what you went through."

"Most likely" Winter admitted.

"Does that seem right to you?"

"Other countries have their own gifted. These children have no home except the one Chris gives them. He teaches them to control their gifts rather than live in fear of them and be accepted into society. You think these children who speak to the dead should be left alone? Unprotected against the entities of the other world? They aren't harmless ghosts Bella. Some are evil and can affect this world. They can hurt those children who are open to them. Some are powerful enough to hurt those who aren't open to them."

"What about you? What about your gifts?" Bella asked. Winter had told her a bit, but not much.

"I'm working with Chris. You will as well. But you need to learn to fight. Now put the fucking cigarette down and fight."

Bella moved to drop the cigarette but before she could it was taken from her hand. She turned, shocked that she could be snuck up on. Winter was shocked as well.

A man.

A human.

He had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.

Taking a drag off the cigarette he dropped it to the ground and used the heel of his boot to snuff it out.

"Those things will kill you I hear." he said with a grin. "Now which one of you ladies is Bella Swan?" he asked, never taking his eyes off of Bella.

"She is." Winter told him. "Who the hell are you?"

Connolly pulled his gaze from the most beautiful set of brown eyes he had ever seen and turned to Winter.

"Jason Connolly. Bella is coming with me. Time to teach this lady how to fight."

"I am training her. She isn't ready to be with you."

"From what I saw you were teaching her how to get hit in the head with a stick Agent Drake."

Bella was speechless as she looked at Winter and Jason. A part of her did not want to leave her friend or this ranch. This was nice. Warm. She had something resembling a home here.

Another part of her couldn't bear to be away from this man. Was he a vampire? Had he enthralled her already? No, she could practically feel the warmth radiating off of him. His grin, his lean build, his sandy blonde hair.

"She hasn't learned to use the weapon. She has to learn to use her kat…"

"She can't do a damn thing until she learns who she is underneath all the vampire bullshit she has been put through. Enthrallment fucks with your head from what I have read. She has been a snack and a slave to a vampire for over a year. She needs to remember who she was and learn who she can be. Nothin against you Winter. I have read about what you have done. What you have lost. I have great respect for you. Give me six weeks. I will bring her back a warrior. Then she can use that wicked blade by your side. By all our sides. Until then she is useless to us all."

"I am not useless!" Bella yelled. Up until this moment she had thought of nothing but his eyes, his grin, his tall lean body. His assessment of her, made her think differently. Now she was pissed off.

"No ma'am you aren't. I plan to make sure you learn that. That you remember that."

"She can stay here. Do what you need here." Winter suggested forcefully.

"No Winter. Jason is right. Bella has to go with him. When she returns she can learn to use the blade. Learn to use her gift. Not until then." Chris told her, walking up.

"Mr. Jennings. Pleasure to meet you sir." Connolly told him.

"Same here Commander. Call me Chris."

"Commander no more I'm afraid. I just go by Jason. I don't exist anymore than you do now."

"What do you mean you don't exist?" Bella asked, continuing to take in Connolly's appearance. She had not felt a genuine attraction for a man in so long she forgot how overwhelming it could be.

Connolly for his part had come, expecting a child, a pathetic vampire snack he would have to mold into something resembling a fighter.

Once he saw her, that notion went out the window. In his 28 years he had seen attractive women and slept with more than his share, never more than once or twice.

Not one ever affected him the way this one did. She was gorgeous. Her eyes were wary like his. Her soul older than her twenty years. But her face, her body all called to him. That brown hair that flowed from her head. For the first time he wondered if he was the right one to train her. He couldn't take her through the first week. But training her afterward?

Then he realized he would allow no one else to do it, so that issue simply didn't matter.

"I go with her." Winter said forcefully. Connolly took her in. She resembled Bella in buid. Her hair was darker and much shorter. Winter's eyes were blue as opposed to Bella's brown.

Connolly recognized the way Winter looked at Bella.

"Fraid not ma'am. That's not part of the deal. You have an issue with it, take it up with the President."

The fence posts flew out of the ground, causing Bella to jump back. Connolly didn't flinch. One look at Winter's eyes and he knew. He also knew what she could do and that she would probably have a temper. At least when it came to Bella.

"They probably shouldn't be far apart. Bella won't be apart from her Katana. It has to stay near her or she loses her strength. Winter will keep it. She will stay out of the way." Chris suggested.

"Fine. You interfere in an yway you are out of there Winter. You went through CIA training. What Bella will need is much tougher. But she will survive. She won't have a choice." Connolly said, pulling his eyes away from Winter and taking in Bella once more.

"What do you mean? Where are you taking me?"

Connolly smiled.

"Coronado California. You Ms. Swan are going to BUD/s. At least parts of it. There is no training scheduled there for the next 6 weeks. It will be the perfect place for you. Don't worry about packing your bags. A helicopter will be here in five minutes to take us and everything you need will be there."

Connolly walked off and called his old friend Jack Webb. The two had conducted missions together many times and Jack was one of the best Jason had ever come across. Jack was waiting for their new charge with Hawk and Ty.

What's up man? You on your way?"

"Bout to be. Listen I can't participate in the first week. I will observe and that will be it."

"Why? You were supposed to be the head trainer."

Connolly didn't say that he thought he may have fallen in love with her the first time he saw her. He left it alone.

"I will watch. After the first week I will teach her everything I know. I will teach her to be a killer. But the first week? That is going to belong to you three."

"Why? All that talk about us going into combat with these two super women and not treating them any differently and you are backing out. What kind of bullshit is this?"

"I meant every word I said. It's not the pain I am worried about. She needs to learn different skills from me. It's my call. You three handle the first week. This isn't up for discussion Jack. You break her down and I will build her back up. Find out what is underneath the mess I'm about to bring you. Show her no mercy. The vampires won't."

_Coronado California. Navy Seal training base_

Bella was shown to a dilapidated shack by Connolly. It was 9 PM and she was exhausted from the trip here. Physically she was exhausted from the travel. Emotionally she was exhausted by the presence of the man beside her. She did her best to take her eyes off of him but every now and then their eyes would meet. He would always smile and look away.

She was attracted to him. Bella had given up on the idea of love a long time ago. She certainly didn't believe in love at first sight. It reminded her of imprinting and she never wanted any of that. She knew nothing about the man, but he knew about her and a part of her was deeply ashamed by that. He knew what she had let herself become and still he smiled at her.

He looked at her as if he wanted her and it drove her crazy. Winter had sat closely beside her the entire trip not saying a word, holding Bella's hand. In the month Bella had been at Wonderland she had rekindled her friendship with one of her oldest and few friends she had. While Bella knew she could not replace Summer, her presence seemed to sooth Winter somewhat the way Chris's presence seemed to calm everyone around him.

Winter was worried and Bella sensed it. When the chopper landed and Bella stepped out, Winter asked for Bella's blade. Bella handed it over reluctantly. She had a feeling the blade would give her the strength she needed to get through anything. Still as long as it was near…

After handing over her blade Winter gave her a hug and disappeared leaving her with Connolly. She knew she was on a beach and wished she could see the ocean through the darkness.

She was a bit surprised by the state of her housing. She hadn't expected much from the US military but this place was barely better than the house she had had in New Mexico.

"That is your bed. On it are a pair of combat boots, pants, underwear and a t shirt. Put them on and lay down. Get some sleep. You are going to need it."

"Why?" Bella asked.

"You are strong but you don't have your blade. You aren't going to be as strong. Besides strength you are going to need endurance. You are going to be tested. We will find out how strong you are inside without that sword of yours you can't seem to fight with yet. Make no mistake Bella, this will be the most difficult thing you have ever done. I plan to cram 6 months of training into 6 weeks. You start in the morning when your instructors wake you."

"I thought you were my instructor." Bella asked, confused. She had been looking forward to spending more time with this man.

"Next week you learn what I have to teach you. This week you learn about yourself. You think you are strong and fast. You will be tested. You will do everything your instructors tell you to do. You will not quit. These instructors are not Chris Jennings. They aren't here to make you feel better. They aren't here to beg you to quit smoking the way Winter has been. They are here for one purpose and you will follow their orders. Again, I stress this. You will not quit."

"And if I do?" Bella asked.

"You won't. The eyes are the window to your soul and I can see it in your soul. Good luck this week. I won't be far away."

3 AM

Bella woke to the sound of pots banging next to her head. She shot up straight in bed, waking from a dream about Jason Connolly, the first time she had a dream that wasn't a nightmare in a very long time. She was annoyed at the noise until she saw the monster standing over her.

"Get your ass up vampire snack!" Hawk yelled at the tiny woman in bed.

"Do we need to drink some of your blood before you get out of bed? Because we don't do that sick shit here." A tall bald headed black man said to her with a smile. The smile wasn't friendly.

Another man walked in between them. He was average size, built more like Connolly. There was no smile on his face.

"My name is Jack Webb. You are to call me Master Chief. The other two men you will address as sir. Now get your scrawny ass outside now. Somebody told me you weren't a quitter. Let's find out if it is true. Welcome to Hell Week."

_Ontario Canada_

Edward sat in front of Carlisle, a worried man. He knew Carlisle's thoughts. He knew his maker was not happy with him.

"I am confused Edward. Perhaps you could enlighten me. Why has Bella not contacted you? You seemed so certain that she would. All she needed was time away from the La Push wolf pack and Jacob Black and she would come to you. I didn't panic when she left. You told me not to. The enthrallment was complete. Yet here we are and she is nowhere to be found."

"I don't know why. I suppose Jacob Black had more of an influence than I estimated."

"You stood by while she kissed him on a mountain top and did nothing." Carlisle pointed out.

"Had I acted Jealous it would have pushed her further away. I played on her guilt." Edward told him truthfully.

"We were lucky enough to discover a shield. Do you know how rare those are? Of course you do. You had her. She loved you. She let you drink her blood. Why didn't you turn her sooner?"

"You all agreed she would be turned after the Victoria problem had been settled. We needed her as our link to the wolf pack. Without their help our coven could have been eradicated. You agreed, Jasper agreed, now this is my fault?" Edward argued. "I miss her. I want her. You think I haven't been doing everything in my power to get her back? She wasn't just a weapon to me. The silence of her mind, the taste of her blood. The obedience she showed until the end. I wanted her. I still do."

Carlisle sat back and sighed. He admitted he could have handled the situation better. He let Edward have his fun. He let him enthrall her. He let him fall in love with her. When she was thought dead Carlisle had no idea Edward would act like such an idiot, running to Aro and begging for death. Alice used Bella to save Edward. Alice and Edward were always close, closer than Jasper would have liked. Rosalie screwed everything up with her mouth.

As a result Aro found out about Bella.

Now he felt pressure from the Volturi. They did not know she had ran and they had no idea Carlisle had no idea where she could have gone. Every time Edward attempted to get close enough to Sam Uley to read his thoughts he was chased away by the pack.

Carlisle would be damned if he would give up Bella or Edward to the Volturi. But he needed Bella turned before he could face them. He had friends. Friends who would fight with him and establish a new order. But without Bella, his friends and coven would simply fall prey to Alec's gift. They would be destroyed in seconds. Instead Carlisle had stalled Aro.

Aro however was running out of patience. He had place a deadline on Carlisle to bring him the vampire Bella Swan to the castle in Italy no longer than three months from this day. Carlisle had his entire coven and the Denali's looking for Bella for over a year. Jasper had his human contacts looking for her. Alice watched her parent's future. Nothing.

It was if she disappeared from the face of the Earth.

"We must double our efforts. Without Alice's visions we are lost. We must draw her out somehow." Carlisle pondered.

"Emmett and Rose are watching her mother. Jasper has been keeping tabs on her father through his humans. She will not stay away forever. She will return."

"We have three months." Carlisle pointed out.

"We have Jasper." Edward countered. "Garrett and Peter will come if he calls. The Volturi will not…"

Carlisle slammed his fist on his desk, breaking it in two.

"Find her Edward. Find her and make her yours at all costs. Do you understand me? Without her we do not fight, we run. You do not know Aro the way I do. You do not know there is no line he will not cross. Now go and feed. Your eyes are black. Feed and find her. Leave no stone unturned. Search the most remote places on Earth. Find her Edward or we all die."

"Shall I feed from animals?"

"Are you going to school? No you aren't. I don't give a damn what or who you eat. Just make sure the carcass is gone and get to work.

_Volterra Italy_

Aro walked alone through the hidden corridors not even his brothers knew of, underneath the castle. This castle was built by him for a specific purpose. Every thousand years an opportunity arose. He had missed the last opportunity. Foiled by children. Two human females wielding samurai blades before Katana's were even in use in Japan. Where they came from Aro had no idea. He did know they tore through his coven, even killing Marcus's wife. He ran at the time. Ran and begged for his continued existence.

He was granted a reprieve from his failure. He was allowed to build a stronger army, a gifted army. One that would dominate the vampire world. For when the next thousand years passed, he would be prepared. No excuses.

Still there were gifted vampires he needed. Vampires who would help him not only control the living but the dead army his master planned to raise. He needed the girl who could see the future, he needed the vampire warlord who could instill fear in any opponent. He needed the mind reader.

He most definitely needed Bella Swan. Her arrival in his throne room voluntarily was the most good fortune he had in many years.

It would be a simple thing to kill Carlisle and Esme and the other two, Rose and Emmett. He would have Chelsea bind the others. Bella Swan was enthralled by Edward. She belonged to him. She would follow him anywhere. Even if they had not been lovers she would be enslaved to her maker.

Aro did not plan to simply rule the vampire world. He already did. He did not plan to simply rule the human world. This would be too easy. He would sit at the side of the most powerful being he had ever encountered and rule the living and the dead at his lord's side.

He approached the door leading to the chamber. Even to this day he felt a chill before entering the room. Steeling himself he entered the dark room. No light was permitted in, making it impossible for even him to see what was inside. This was fine with Aro. He had seen his master once. He had no desire to see him again. The lord was a demon not even Hell could hold.

"Has she been turned?" A deep voice asked quietly.

"No my Lord. I do not believe so. I have given Carlisle a deadline of three months. This will give us enough time to execute our plan.

"I cannot leave this room until the gates have been broken. One twin has died. Have you found the other?"

'No my lord. Demetri cannot even see her."

"Your two prizes were cowards. Jane had the advantage. She should have killed both."

"Alec was injured. Jane panicked and ran. She was punished for this. My guard will not fail me again. There is only one now. Even with both blades they are susceptible to our gifts. The one twin's death proved that."

"The twin has been replaced. Even now the new child is learning to fight. I can feel this. I know it. It is imperative you find them and kill them both this time. They are all that stand in my way. We will not be stopped this time."

"Of course my Lord. I shall double our efforts."

"And the shield? The gates will not be unprotected. Many hazards lie in wait for you. Three months? You think this will give you the time she needs to be ready? We have less than a year Aro. Her gift must be honed. She is the only one who can lead your army through the protective measures in place. Alice can give forewarnings but only the Swan girl can get you through what lies ahead."

"She will be ready. Bella Swan will be ours. I swear on my existence my lord."

"That is exactly what is at stake. If I have to spend another thousand years in this cell I will make certain you spend it here with me. Be gone and come back when you have news that you have completed your tasks instead of news of continued failure."

"Of course my lord."

Aro hurried outside. He must talk to Demetri. Perhaps Alistair could be found and have better luck. Aro had to have Bella Swan.

He had lived too long to fail now.


	3. Chapter 3

Don't own Twilight or its characters. Only the plot and OCs are mine.

A/N- What a response. You guys are awesome. Glad you seem to be enjoying it. Hope I can keep you entertained. I am blown away by the number of reviews the first chapters got. Keep it up guys. It keeps me motivated.

I never got to really show the training Bella went through in God and Country. I referenced it a few times but that was it. So I am kinda excited about seeing what she is going to go through this time. If it seems kinda harsh, that's because it is. At least at first. So this chapter will be mostly about Bella's training.

One other thing before I get on to the chapter. Rickie your comment about just the facts confused me until Natalie pointed out that Jack Webb was Joe Friday. I never watched Dragnet and had no idea that was the actor's name. Jack Webb was also my great grandfather's name. He was a belly gunner in a bomber during WW2. His bomber was shot down and he managed to parachute into the water where he was picked up and held as a POW for a year before the war ended. That name is kinda my tribute to him. I never knew him but the stories about his life my grandmother told me always had my attention.

Chapter 3

_Coronado California_

Bella stood knee deep in the ocean she had wished to see the night before. Although it was still dark she felt it, every time a wave nearly crashed over her shoulders. Staring at the beach she saw her instructors/torturers ten feet away on the soft sand. The man named Webb was speaking to her. She did her best to listen while constantly trying to run in place with a ten pound bar over her head. The ten pounds was nothing. She could feel the blade. She knew where it was, inside a cabin fifty yards away, where she assumed Connolly and Winter slept. It gave her the strength she needed to hold the bar and run in place with ease.

What she had not been prepared for was the lack of balance, the shifting sands beneath her feet, the waves pounding her, water splashing in her ears, somehow making it into her mouth and leaving the acrid taste of salt water burning her throat.

Her instructors had not said a word. All three just stood there watching her.

She didn't mind. She could do this all day. She would take the water and the cold. It didn't matter that her clothes were soaked. Nothing mattered except getting through this. They had no idea how strong she was, how strong the blade made her…

Her thoughts were cut off when a wave knocked her to her knees and she fell face first into the water. Looking up, her long hair plastered to her face she saw the three men laughing at her.

"It's been twenty minutes. What are you doing? Get your ass up and keep going. You are fucking Wonder Woman from what I hear. This shouldn't be a problem for you." Webb told her, smiling, while cringing inwardly. He hated every moment of this. He knew his attitude was outdated. He knew Winter had seen combat and been exposed to training similar to this. He still hated to do this to a woman. The fact that Connolly had laid this at his feet pissed him off even more. He had seen the glances Connolly had given her. It would only complicate things more. This situation was complicated enough.

Ty Gavin felt sorry for the ocean soaked girl. She may not realize it, but she was getting tired and this had only been twenty minutes. Ty had gone through this himself as well as Jack and Connolly. He knew the signs of those who wouldn't make it. Those who arrived to live a dream and found out this wasn't worth it. It pissed him off that he was having to do this to another person. But they all had their jobs to do. He wondered if this girl would hate him and Jack. Ty already hated Hawk so he wasn't concerned about him.

Ty thought of his instructors. He hated those men.

At first.

Then they became sources of inspiration for him. He went from survival mode to warrior mode. He wanted to impress them. To show them he could not be broken.

He hoped she would forgive them when this was done.

Bella continued running in place. After what seemed like an eternity, she realized she could not stop her teeth from chattering. Although she was strong her lungs were giving out. Her energy was fading. She may be able to go toe to toe with a vampire but vampires didn't need to breathe. She did.

The sand moved from under Bella's feet three more times sending her tumbling to the grainy shifting mud below. She tried to lift herself and was surprised to see that she couldn't. She reached out for her blade but although she felt it, it wasn't giving her the strength she had before.

Falling back into the knee deep water, she felt a hand grabbing her under her arm pit. She was being dragged out by one of the instructors.

She rolled over on her back and tried to catch her breath, glad to be out of the cold water at least. Turning her head to the side she saw the smiling face of Jack Webb. The sun was coming up over the water and Bella noted the evil grin on his face.

"Listen Bella. I think this is a dumb idea. You may be strong but you aren't in good enough shape to survive this. It's been a couple hours and I know your legs are burning. You probably can't feel your arms. You have almost drowned three or four times. This is stupid right? I mean what are the odds we are going to find ourselves in a battle with supernatural monsters that could last days and take us all to our physical breaking points. You don't need this, do you?" Webb asked.

Bella said nothing, never breaking eye contact with the man.

"I've been an instructor here twice. Do you know that 60% of candidates drop out after this week? That's with two weeks prep and years of military service and PT behind them. You were given a damn sword that gives you a hell of a punch and makes you fast but you are still only human. Only a girl. Just quit. All you have to do is say I quit at any time and I will get Connolly and your best friend out of their nice comfortable cabin and tell them we can't do this. You can still fight. You will just have to stay behind us in battle. Sound good?"

Bella said nothing.

"You should know when I was an instructor here my drop out rate was around 80% both times. Say it Bella. Save us all time we don't have. Say I quit and it's all over. Aren't you getting hungry? We can go have breakfast. I know this little spot that makes the best ham and cheese omelets. Wouldn't coffee be good right now? No you prefer Jack Daniels in your cereal right? You could have a cigarette maybe. Say it."

"Go fuck yourself." Bella gritted out between chattering teeth.

"That's go fuck yourself Master Chief. Now roll over on your hands and knees. You are going to do push ups. Let's see how strong you really are."

Bella, furious, rolled over and began …

"Step back into the water. Do not stand. Use your hands and feet and crawl backward. I want you chin deep with the water. You can take a breath when you come up and breathe out under water."

Bella did as she was told, inching back into the freezing water.

After one hundred pushups she could no longer feel her shoulders. Apparently her strength did have limits.

When she breathed out and realized she could no longer use her arms to lift herself back up she felt another hand under her. This one threw her over his massive shoulders and deposited her roughly on the beach. She knew it was Hawk.

"What's wrong little girl? Can't feel your arms anymore? 112 is impressive. I can do 200 and I don't need a magic sword to do it."

"Just steroids." Bella whispered. Hawk leaned down and moved his face so close to Bella she could smell the coffee on his breath.

"Just steroids, sir. This body is a result of genetics and intense physical labor. What is your body a result of? Being a blood donor? Whiskey and cigarettes? I heard you tasted sweet. Is it just your blood?"

"Hawk back off. None of that shit. Swan you ready to quit yet? The sun is up and I'm ready to get some breakfast." Webb told her.

"No Master Chief. I am not quitting." Bella told him with determination she didn't feel.

"Fine. Since your arms apparently are only strong for about ten minutes start doing sit ups. When we get back after breakfast you can stop. You know how to do a sit up right?"

"Yes Master Chief."

"Good. Get to it. When you are ready for this bullshit to stop let me know."

Bella began her sit ups. She was up to two hundred when she felt herself growing weaker. Gavin came out of a barrack eating a sandwich.

"Hey I noticed your sword wasn't gleaming as brightly as my beautiful head. Winter and Connolly are taking it into town to get some metal polish." Gavin said around the food in his mouth.

Bella panicked. He wasn't lying. She could feel her sword getting farther away. She tried to reach for it but was too tired. Winter must be holding it.

That fucking bitch.

"I didn't say to stop doing sit ups. Hell a little kid can do a sit up." Ty told her sitting down and taking another bite. He then offered it to her.

"Want a bite? I can go make you one. Just put an end to this. I don't like doing this to a woman, especially one as pretty as you."

Bella said nothing to Ty, her anger returning. These guys were pigs. Male chauvinist pigs.

She began doing sit ups once more.

Ten minutes later her abdomen was screaming in pain. Webb came out.

"See that barrack?" he asked her pointing to the one he had just left, two hundred feet away.

"Inside is a loaf of bread and a glass of water. You have five minutes to eat and get your ass back out here. A second past five minutes and this is over."

Bella sprinted. When she reached the inside she saw a black loaf of bread and a large glass of water.

She hesitated.

"It's not moldy. It's a Russian bread. Filled with carbohydrates. If you insist on continuing this, eat it. It tastes like paper." Hawk said from a corner, where he sat with his feet kicked up on a table.

Bella began to stuff as much of the tasteless bread as she could into her mouth, keeping an eye on the clock. After three minutes she downed the glass of water and raced back outside where Webb stood next to Gavin.

"You really want to keep this up? It's been eight hours now. I won't let you sleep for the next 64 hours. You can't take this Bella. Say it. Say I quit. I don't want to do this anymore to you." Webb told her softly.

"What would you like me to do next Master Chief?" she asked him.

"Fine. Connolly and your girlfriend brought your little blade back. Can you feel it?"

Bella realized she hadn't even noticed. Her clothes were still wet, and her abdomen already hurting felt stuffed do to the bread in her stomach.

"We want to see how hard you can hit. Think you can show us?"

Bella grinned.

"I thought so. Hawk?"

Hawk pushed a metal sled up the beach. In front of the sled was a steel plate covered by a foam pad one might see in a gym.

"Go ahead. Start with a right jab. That's a straight punch in case you didn't know. I heard you don't know shit about fighting. When you can knock this sled one hundred yards down the beach, turn it around and use your left to punch it back to us. Failure to do this means you quit. Take all the time you need, so long as you make it there and back in an hour." Webb told her.

Bella lashed out at the pad and was pleased to see it slide back nearly ten feet. She grinned. This would be easy.

75 yards down the beach the padded spot Bella had been punching had gone away. She began hitting other areas, lashing straight out with her right fist. At the end of the hundred yards the knuckles on her right fist were bloody, the soft pad was gone.

She used what strength she had left to turn the huge sled around. Preparing herself to strike the way Winter had taught her she unleashed with her left fist.

The sled moved a couple feet and stopped.

Bella struck harder. A couple yards.

Fifty six minutes into the exercise she collapsed at the finish line, blood covering her left knuckles as well.

"Those knuckles look bad. You know what is good for that?" Ty asked her.

"No sir." Bella responded.

"Salt water. Disinfects everything. I think. Let's give it a try. Back in the water for push ups." Ty instructed.

Bella felt dread in her heart. She knew how bad her hands would sting. They were cramped and the idea of stretching her hands from the clenched fist positions they were in, frightened her.

Then she looked at the barracks where she knew Connolly was.

She would not quit in front of him. She would not quit in front of Winter. She had given Winter her word she would fight beside her.

Bella thought it would be easy. Get the sword and cut vampires to pieces. She was strong and fast. It should have been easy.

She was learning today that she was very wrong. Her lungs burned yet she stood and stretched out her cramped hands, managing not to cry out.

Webb walked over her, standing in the water. He didn't have to tell her how deep to go this time.

An hour later he dragged her back to the beach.

"Do you know how to perform dive bombers Ms. Swan?"

"No Master Chief," Bella whispered.

"Mr. Gavin would you demonstrate?"

Ty began performing the maneuver. To Bella it seemed simple. From a push up position with his legs spread it appeared he was simply trying to lean under something like a wire.

"Now back in the water, only where the water meets the sand. Get started." Webb told her.

After Bella had completed fifty she hurt. She was using muscles she didn't know she had. She could feel her strength ebbing. She knew her source of power was near but it didn't matter. She had passed the limits of that power long ago.

An hour later she was carrying the bar over her head, running in place in the breaking surf. This time she fell more often.

Every time she got back to her feet. Webb tried to help her up once and Bella swung the bar at him. He jumped back just in time and laughed.

The three instructors began to run and she was told to keep up. Three miles in and her lungs were on fire. Webb ran backwards facing her. It wasn't difficult. They had slowed the pace so as not to leave her behind.

"This is the slowes have ever ran Swan. Look kid, you did great today. You did GI Jane proud. But the sun is almost down, it's time for dinner and you and I both know when you get more food in your stomach, you aren't going to be able to continue. Let's head back to the barracks and call it a day. We can have you back to your ranch in Wyoming by noon tomorrow. Let you sleep in. Maybe the cowboy down there can meditate with you or something. Make you feel better about quitting. You can get in touch with your spiritual side. You and Winter can continue to play with stick swords and if we need the two of you we will call you. Leave the monster fighting to the men who know how to fight. What do you say?"

"Fuck you Master Chief." Bella told him quietly, trying to save her oxygen.

"Damn girl, if you had shown this much grit in high school maybe you wouldn't have become a slave to a vampire. Too bad. I was wondering do you have any teeth marks on you besides the one on your wrist that vampire tore out of you? Or did Edward Cullen lick his bite marks clean so Daddy wouldn't see them?"

At the mention of that name Bella became furious, exhaustion forgotten. She lashed out and hit Webb in the face.

Three miles from her blade, her strike did little to him. He brushed it off with a laugh.

"I guess he did lick them clean. Time to head back. Little soldier needs her food."

Three miles back Bella collapsed in a chair by a fresh loaf of bread. This time a piece of ham was next to it.

"Eat up. You have twenty minutes." Gavin told her. Bella nearly fell asleep after she ate half the loaf and chewed the ham until her sore teeth caused her to stop.

"Let's go. Ready for your next assignment?" Webb asked her.

"Yes Master Chief."

"Come with me."

Bella expected to go outside. Instead she followed Webb into the next room. Inside was a small desk and a comfortable chair. Classical music played softly on the radio. He handed her sheet of paper and a pen.

"I want you to write your life story starting with when you arrived in Fork's Washington. I want you to write down everything about Cullen. How he would watch you sleep. How you figured out what he was. Write down every single time you bared your neck for him to drink your blood. Make it romantic. I want it to be at least ten thousand words. Hell, give it a title. Call it something sweet and mysterious. Full Moon, or Vampire's Kiss or Twilight or some crap like that. Make it something every little teenage girl wants to read and dream. Your romantic vampire who only wanted to protect you from the world while you shared your soul with him. While you let him drink your blood. He watched you sleep. Tell me how many hugs you got from his coven leader's mate. How many clothes and makeover's you got from the short vampire. Tell me how beautiful the fucking blonde is and how the big guy is so sweet. Write it all down. Or you can quit, lay your head on the desk and fall asleep. It's up to you. See you in a couple hours."

Bella sat, shocked at her assignment. Tears threatened to leak from her eyes but she would not show weakness in the event one of these assholes came back in.

Three hours later, Connolly walked in with Webb, Gavin, Winter and Hawk while Bella's head was on the desk. She had passed out ten minutes before, the pen still in her hand. Under her face were sheets of written paper. Winter gently lifted her head and took the papers out.

"What did she write?" Connolly asked. Winter informed the group.

"I am going to cut off Webb's dick and stuff it down Gavin's mouth. I am going to cut off Hawk's head and stick his mouth on Gavin's dick. I am going to pull off all their balls and roast them on that fucking beach. I will kill them all." Winter read.

"She just wrote that over and over again. Pretty much seems to be the theme." she told the men, handing the sheets to Connolly.

"It does have a certain poetry to it." Connolly admitted.

"At least it's going to be your head suckin my dick, Hawk." Ty commented.

"You would rather suck Webb's dick? That what you are saying?" Hawk asked.

"I didn't say that bitch… I just meant… man fuck you. You the one who likes prison."

Hawk just chuckled.

"I can't believe she survived today." Winter said quietly, brushing Bella's hair aside from her eyes. "There were a few times I nearly killed you all."

"She will survive. I have no doubt. She has to do this Winter." Jason told her.

"Look at her knuckles." Winter pointed out.

"Let her sleep for thirty more minutes and then wake her." Connolly ordered.

"I thought I was in charge?" Webb asked.

"Let her sleep for thirty more minutes. Now clear the barracks."

Connolly walked out behind the rest. A large part of him wanted to return to her and kiss her at least on the forehead. He wouldn't though. It wasn't his place to. Not yet, he was surprised to find himself thinking.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this." Jason said quietly and walked out. He had reports to go over. He and Winter had been studying everything the Government and Winter and Chris knew about vampires. But neither of their thoughts left Bella.

Winter walked outside conflicted. Her best friend, her only friend, was going through hell and it pissed her off. She wanted to be there with Bella. Bella was her partner. They would fight together.

But it wasn't to be. Not for the immediate future. Chris told her this team was needed. He didn't say why but she had placed her faith in the man even after Summer was killed. She never doubted him.

Walking down the beach, Winter took in the stars before joining Connolly again. She knew the look he gave Bella. She knew his mind was on her all day, try as he might to ignore her trials he was no more successful than she was.

Once she was away from the men Winter stared at the beach.

"Summer am I wrong for doing this? For bringing her into this?"

Nothing.

After Summer died Winter gained new abilities. Although she had never been a remote viewer before she could now see things rooms away. Still it felt like she was looking through someone else's eyes. She also had been granted some form of telekinesis. Chris felt it was her gift. Winter knew better.

She could feel her sister's spirit around her. Somehow Summer had stayed with her.

"Are you there? Please tell me. If you can pull fence posts out of the ground I know you can tell me. Talk to me. Please." Winter begged. "I miss you."

Nothing.

Then the sand moved.

A heart. A simple heart formed in the sand. Winter choked back a sob.

"I love you too. Thank you."'

Inside the barracks Bella woke to Gavin's hand slamming the desk.

She looked around dazed. She had managed to stay up for as long as possible. She supposed she passed out.

"Vampire could have drained you girl. Passed out like that. Get your shit together. This may be some modified training but its still Seal training. You know how to swim?"

"Yeah. I mean yes sir."

"Good. Not drowning is a start. Let's go."

Bella walked outside shocked to see it was still dark. Hawk and Webb were waiting in an inflatable boat with an outboard engine. They were both wearing shorts and Hawaiian shirts. Bella shook herself out of her haze, thinking she must be hallucinating. A look at Ty, and she just noticed he was dressed the same.

She said nothing as she and Ty reached the boat. She said nothing as Webb guided the craft out into the ocean. The motion of the boat crashing over the waves made Bella want to puke but she held it in. As the sun rose the boat stopped. Bell had no idea how far she was away from shore but she could no longer see it. She also knew her Katana was very far away.

Webb tossed her a life jacket.

"Put it on."

Bell did as told. Once it was secure Hawk picked her up from behind and tossed her in the water. When she surfaced she caught her breath and looked at the men in the boat. Gavin was drinking a cup of coffee. The other two had a beer in their hands.

"Good news today. No pushups, or sit ups. No punching things until your knuckles bleed. Today you are out for a leisurely swim. The jacket will make sure you don't drown. We are going to float beside you enjoying the day while you swim back to shore. At any time if you want to quit say it. We can let all the nasty things you wrote that you are going to do to us be water under the bridge. We can share a beer and relax all the way to the beach. It's about six miles away. The closer you get to your toy the easier it should be for you, right?" Webb asked.

Bella said nothing.

"Take as many breaks as you like. If you see a shark let us know and one of us will shoot it. You can float here all day if you want and relax. I plan to work on my tan. Only two ways you are getting back to that beach. Quit or swim. Have fun."

Bella spent the next ten hours in the water. At times she was reduced to kicking. At times she used one arm to pull herself along and then switched to the other. When she felt a current taking her off course the boat would gently nudge her back but never pull her in.

She let the waves carry her when she at last, saw dry land.

Hitting solid ground her legs collapsed under her.

"Ready to quit Bella? You done proved enough. I lost a hundred bucks already, thinking you wouldn't have made it this far. Come on. Just quit." Ty told her in a friendly voice.

Bella reached out with her mind and felt the blade near. She found the strength to stand on shaky legs.

"What is next sir?"

"Damn bitch, you just don't know when to quit do you?"

"The little girl wants to know what's next, Gavin. Let's show her. Time for some learning Bella. I realize you probably had other things on your mind in high school and you were too busy running for your life to go to college but Connolly and Drake seem to think you are smart. Let's see how smart you are." Webb told her.

Bella found herself back in the room she had been the night before. A loaf of bread was placed in front of her and another chunk of ham. She ate until she felt she would burst, knowing this was a bad idea. She was given a bathroom break and walked slowly back to the desk. She noticed this time a large bucket was over the desk attached to a rope. The rope led to Hawk's hand who stood next to Webb by a screen with a Power Point presentation on it.

"Listen up. We are going to go over the history of the Samurai, fighting styles and development of the Katana. There will be a test when this is done. Pay attention. Take as many notes as you can and use them on the test.

Bella concentrated on making her aching hand close around the pen in front of her.

She tried to keep up. She took as many notes as she could. It didn't matter.

When she dozed off, Hawk titled the bucket with the rope in his hand and she was covered in cold water, ruining her notes and causing her to scream in shock. The bucket was replaced and used twice more.

There was no test.

Daybreak came and Bella yearned for sleep. She thought she was beginning to see things. She had at most an hour or two of sleep in the last 48. She thought it had been 48. She really had no way of telling time anymore. Bella was pretty sure this was the second or third sunrise she had seen. Her body was pain. She thought she saw her mother on the beach more than once. She was waving goodbye to Bella, just as she had done when Bella passed through the airport gate to step onto the flight that would take her to Forks.

Once again she was in the water with that damn bar over her head, running in place. After two hours she did sprints, one hundred yards and back with thirty second breaks. At the end of two hours she was barely walking, arms over her head, hands behind her head, trying to suck in as much oxygen as possible.

Once again she was taken out into the water. This time her assignment was simple. When the boat sped by, she was to grab onto Hawk's arm and pull herself out of the water and into the boat.

Bella failed to complete this the first seven times. On her eighth try she was successful. Hawk gave her a nod, respect for her on his face for the first time.

For the first time since she arrived, Bella felt a bit of pride.

When she returned she cringed. A steel bar had been planted into the ground, approximately 6 inches in diameter. A thin pad surrounded it.

Webb showed her how to perform a side kick with her right leg, striking the bar with her shin bone.

She kicked for the next two hours until she felt she could not take the pain anymore. She kicked for thirty minutes after that.

Then she switched legs. Barely able to stand on her right leg, she stumbled four times, ass hitting the ground.

She was tired, she ached. Every fiber in her body wanted to quit.

But her mind would not allow it. She also noted that the guys were no longer trying to talk her into quitting. Every time she fell, she heard three voices yelling at her to get up. To keep kicking. To break the fucking bar.

Bella at some point found herself limping back into the barracks. Webb was waiting for her.

"Started to see things yet?"

"Yes Master Chief." Bella told him.

"I saw cartoons running beside me. Daffy Duck at one point. What have you seen?" Jack asked.

"My mother." Bella admitted.

"Do you miss her?"

"Yes. Very much." Bella told him. It had been over two years since she had spoken to her mother, fearful that any contact would make her a target.

"What is the square root of pi?" Webb asked.

Bella was shocked for a moment. She knew this, but she couldn't remember.

"I… I don't know Master Chief."

"What is the capitol of Arizona?"

"Uh…"

"Uh?"

"I don't know."

"You have to keep your head. You have to keep your focus no matter how tired you may be. No matter how much you hurt you must keep your head about you. You will feel pain. The body heals. Pain is temporary. The one thing that will not go, that cannot go is your mind. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master Chief."

"Think before every answer. These are simple. They will get harder. What is four plus four?"

"Eight."

The questioning continued. It continued until daybreak.

Gavin came in and told Bella it was time to move. He took her to a rope course. The ropes were over mud and stretched at least 25 yards.

"Get under those ropes and get to the other side. Keep your ass down." Gavin instructed her.

Bella dropped to the ground and began crawling. After a few yards, gunfire broke out. Bella planted herself in the slimy, smelly mud and froze.

She looked up and saw Hawk firing a rifle over the ropes. He was smiling.

Bella couldn't move. He was going to kill her. She felt paralyzing fear.

"Keep moving. The sooner we get there the sooner we can kick his ass."

Bella turned her head in shock. Tyrone Gavin was in the mud next to her.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go." Ty ordered and began crawling through the mud. His movement caused Bella to begin to move.

"This is ridiculous. Vampires don't use guns." Bella pointed out.

"They might when they get a load of what we can do. Besides you hang out with Connolly enough its only a matter of time until someone is shooting at you. We ain't just fighting vampires Bella. Keep your ass down and crawl."

"Those aren't live rounds are they?" Bella asked crawling along side Ty, mouth swallowing mud. The mud was in her nose and eyes as well. She stopped several times to clean her eyes until she realize her hands were just making the mud thicker on her face.

A bullet struck next to Gavin's cheek. He looked at Hawk, obviously angry.

"Connolly ain't the only one who can kick your ass bitch!" Ty yelled.

"Just proving to the little girl that these are live rounds. Keep that fine ass down Swan."

"Where did you find this guy sir?"

"Prison." Ty answered bluntly.

"Great." Bella whispered.

Once she reached the end of the ropes she was told by Webb to go back through the ropes. This time Bella knew what to expect. She could almost feel the bullets flying over her head.

Webb crawled beside her through the muck.

"Why are you doing this? Doing this with me? I thought I had to do this by myself."

"You do. But we are a team. A family. Family crawls through mud for each other. Cut the chatter. More mud gets in your mouth. Memorize the sounds. That's an AK 47. He is about to start firing an M4. Learn the sounds. Learn the danger and for God's sake keep your ass and head down. Connolly found this guy in prison."

After the mud bath, Bella once again went into the ocean. This time she was running in place and made to lift the bar up and down.

She was taken to a pull up station. She had yet to do these and found her back muscles were sorely lacking. The sun rose and fell. Bella had lost complete track of time. She went through a barrage of sit ups, pull ups, push ups in the water. Her clothes were grimy and she was chafed in places she did not want to think about.

Then she was running. She ate without thinking. She no longer felt the pain. It was constant and did no good to think about.

At some point she followed Webb into the barracks. She didn't realize these were different barracks until she saw the bed.

It had to be a trick.

"What are we doing now sir?"

"A shower is around the corner. There will be fresh clothes laying on the bed when you are done. You will have privacy. Take a shower. You smell horrible. I can't remember the last time you went to the head but you have been eating and drinking. Do you remember?"

Bella tried to shrug her shoulders but they hurt too much.

"Go. Take care of yourself, and lie in bed. Sleep. You are going to need it."

"What's the catch?" Bella asked, not even bothering any longer with titles.

"No catch. Congratulations. You survived Hell Week. You took everything we threw at you. How do you feel?"

"I don't feel anything." Bella told him truthfully. Physically she felt nothing. Mentally and emotionally she was exhausted.

"Good answer. When you wake you will begin the next evolution." Webb informed her.

Bella ran to the shower before he could change his mind. Within twenty minutes she walked out and saw no one around.

Wrapped in a towel she dressed as best she could and fell into a deep sleep.

She slept for the next sixteen hours. It was the first sleep she had in a long time in which no nightmares woke her. No dreams at all.

While Bella went to sleep, Webb walked into Connolly's cabin where he and Winter waited with Hawk and Gavin.

"Good job …"

Webb hit Connolly before he could finish the sentence.

Connolly did not fall but instead rubbed his jaw.

"I guess I deserved that." Jason commented.

"I won't ever do that again." Jack told him.

"I'll never ask you too." Jason told him.

"It was bullshit. I saw how you looked at her. Is this going to be a problem?"

"No." Connolly replied.

"What about you?" he asked, turning to Winter.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" she asked, instantly defensive.

"You know what the hell I'm talking about. I'll be damned if I am on any team with a fucking love triangle going on. Especially when the object of affection isn't gay. You are and I noticed how you stayed out of it. Is this going to be a problem?" Webb asked.

"No." Winter told him. "I know what and who she is. She is my best friend. That's it."

"I couldn't break her but I took her down as much as possible. She can't fight for shit and her endurance sucked but she is a survivor and she has grit. That's enough for me to go to war with her. Now it's your job, Jason. Can you teach her what she needs to know? Without holding back?"

"I give you my word Jack. We will have her ready, no matter what anyone feels about it."

"I'm trusting you man." Jack told him.

"You've trusted me before. Have I ever let you down?" Jason asked.

"No but she is different." Jack pointed out. "I never saw you look at anyone the way you looked at her and I have seen you look at a helluva lot of women."

"I know. I can handle it."

"You better. A lot is riding on this. From everything I've read, this is bigger than anything any of us have faced except Winter here."

"I know."

"You got the rest of the team assembled?"

"They are at our base overseeing its completion and testing the weapons. Trust me Jack. I know what I am doing."

"I trust you. Who wants a beer and some hot dogs? I feel like grilling." Jack said, discussion over.

The four men and Winter walked outside.

Bella awoke to the sight of Jason Connolly smiling down at her. She smiled back before she caught herself.

She tried to sit up and instantly hurt, the soreness causing her to grimace.

Winter walked in and reached out to her. In her hands was something she had longed to see. Her katana in a black cloth scabbard of some sort. She took it in her hand and felt complete.

"I get to keep it?" Bella half asked and half begged.

"It's yours isn't it" Jason asked, grinning. "It's time you came with me."

"What am I going to be doing?" Bella asked, almost afraid of the answer. Knowing he was near gave her strength last week for some reason. She didn't want to fail now in front of him.

"We are going on a hike. Strap that sword on and the backpack next to your cot over your blade and come with me. It's time you learned everything I know."

"You are going to teach me to use this?" Bella asked looking at her katana.

"I am going to teach you to use every weapon I can think of and you will be able to use everyone in a deadly fashion. I'm going to teach you everything I you will be ready. I make only one promise. You do what I say when I say it and show the same level of commitment you did this past week and you will never be a victim again."

Bella nodded her head. She was ready. It was time to stop hiding.

"What do I call you? Sir? Master Chief? Admiral?"

"You can call me Jason, Bella. Now get that pack on. We have a lot of work to do and not much time to do it."

Bella watched him and Winter leave. Winter gave her a smile but said nothing.

Bella knew he didn't lie.

She would never be a victim again. She had went through hell and survived. Not Edward Cullen or the Volturi would ever hurt her again. She would make sure of that herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Don't own Twilight. The OCs and plot are mine.

A/N Again the number of reviews this story is getting are blowing me away. Please keep them coming. Give you a hint. Aro's master is a bad mofo but not the devil. It's tied into Japanese mythology and the backstory of where the swords came from.

Chasing Bella fans I have not forgotten that story. Chapter 14 is coming out this weekend, probably Sunday on TrickyRaven.

A few more characters pop up from my previous stories this chapter. If you are wondering why, it is because I am using this story in a way to continue to develop these characters. Eventually I may write my own novel using them and I want to experiment with different facets of their personalities. Winter will definitely be more developed as the story goes on. So if I have more OCs than Twilight characters here that is why.

Noticed some of my older stories are getting some new reviews. Sagadevotee has pushed Sins of the Past over 900 reviews. Protecting Maddy is only 60 or so reviews away from 1K. If both those stories eventually make a thousand reviews one day I am throwing a party. Sins of the past is in my opinion one of the better stories I have written but the subject matter is rough, so I was shocked at how many reviews it had when I was finished with it. That it continues to be read warms the heart a bit. Also A Fresh Start, probably my favorite story I have ever written, has gotten a few nice reviews and I am thankful for those as well. Thanks everybody.

Final thing. This is the first story I have written, at least this far in the third person point of view. What do you all think? I have no plans to change this throughout the story. Do you like it better like this? To me it is easier to get an overview of everything going on but harder to convey the thoughts and motivations of the characters. I have read novels in both points of views and enjoy both. I wanted to give this a try. How is it workin for you?

Chapter 4

_Ontario Canada_

Beth did not understand what the problem was. She had met him in the library. He was standing next to a shelf smiling at her. In the dimness she could not make out his features well but she knew he was beautiful. Tall, lean body and wavy, sandy blonde hair. His eyes were dark in contrast to the rest of him. His pale complexion told her he did not enjoy the sun any more than she did.

She had always been shy and looked away, but her gaze kept being drawn back to him. He eventually came over and asked if he could share the table.

Before she knew it, she was talking to him in a low whisper, not wanting to disturb the other patrons. She answered all his questions. He never answered hers beside his name.

Edward.

A classic name. It fitted him. He seemed to be from another time, like his name. Like her name.

He complimented her on her lovely brown hair. She had always thought it to be plain but he seemed to love it. She had never felt such at ease with a person, much less a man as beautiful as he was.

He asked her to come with him to the Starbucks. Starbucks was two miles away so she agreed to ride with him, despite knowing the dangers of getting into a car with a man she hardly knew.

His scent. She could not get enough of that scent. His eyes and smile. She did wish his eyes weren't so dark. They were the only thing on his face that seemed out of place. He laughed at her attempts at levity making her feel good. She had always been socially awkward.

She was so lost in these thoughts, she never noticed the very nice car she was in had driven past the Starbucks ten minutes ago.

As he parked the car, she realized he had driven them to a scenic overview. At that moment Beth began to feel something inside herself. Something screaming to get out of the car and run.

Still she felt drawn to him.

He asked to kiss her.

The question caused even greater hesitation but she allowed it. She had only kissed three boys in her 17 years. This was more than she dreamed.

Her lips brushed his.

His lips traveled gently over her ear and then down her neck. They were cool and dry, not wet and sloppy like the other boys she had kissed. Edward obviously knew what he was doing.

She cried out when she felt the two sharp pains in her neck. His lips were no longer soft and cool. They clamped onto her like a vice.

She tried to pull away. Her mind finally breaking through the haze she had been in and begging her to run. She was afraid.

Soon though she relaxed. The pain went away and only the feel of … was he sucking on her neck? His arms were like steel bars and she relaxed into them instead of fighting.

Her head became light and she felt euphoria.

Sixty seconds later she had passed out. Thirty seconds after enough blood had left her body that her heart no longer had any to beat. Her body went rigid but she had passed out long ago.

Without a sound, Beth died.

Edward drew his lips away and stepped out of the car. He was proud to see he had not spilled a drop. He had given her a merciful end to her drab life. Edward opened the passenger seat and unbelted her. Throwing her body over his shoulders he walked into the forest. He came back once more to grab a shovel from his trunk. No need to get dirt on his outfit. Alice would not approve of him digging with his hands to bury a body.

As he threw the last shovel of dirt onto Beth's final resting place, he waited for nightfall. Once the sun had completely fallen he would be strong enough to move a nearby boulder over her shallow grave and Beth would be simply another missing person. A girl taken in the night. He would return to the library then and take care of the security tapes.

He had done this so often it had become a routine.

"Was she good?" Rosalie asked walking up to him. Edward knew she had been watching. She loved to watch others feed, getting a perverse thrill out of watching others die. Ironic considering the circumstances of her turning.

"Yes, quite tasty."

"You do have a thing for brown hair. I suppose if you ever do find Bella you will have Carlisle turn her? I doubt very seriously that you would be able to stop."

"I drank her blood for over a year. I know exactly when to stop." Edward said defensively.

"Yes but she is like a drug to you. Her blood? Nothing topped it. You are a junkie who hasn't had a fix in a long time Edward. This is the longest you have gone since Carlisle made us leave her, thinking she would be even more dependant on you when we returned. That worked out so well for everyone. No it's probably best to leave the turning to Carlisle. He has so much control." Rose said, thinking of the state she was found in, when Carlisle forced her to drink his black filthy blood instead of letting her die like she begged for.

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in Florida watching Bella's mother? Carlisle will not be happy knowing that you and Emmett are here."

"Emmett isn't here. I came alone while he stands vigil over your mother in law. Oh wait, that didn't happen did it? Regardless I became tired of the beach."

"I would imagine lying in the sun all day in a tiny bikini would suit you?"

"It did, for a while. But you know how I hate feeling weak. I needed some darkness in my life. Plus I missed you and Carlisle. Haven't you missed me?" Rose asked, pouting.

Although vampires could not be enthralled by other vampires, Rosalie had a gift. She was a succubus, the same as Tanya, Kate and Irina in Alaska. Edward had enjoyed them all at one time or another.

Enjoy may not be the correct word. Like her cousins, Rose viewed sex as a weapon. A weapon used to control those around her. Although she was correct in her observation that he loved women with brown chestnut hair, Edward found that he could not resist her when she decided she wanted him. The thoughts in her head were too enticing to ignore. She had turned Emmett and married him, keeping him satisfied in exchange for the protection he provide her.

The poor bastard had no idea what a whore his wife was.

"Actually I haven't missed you." Edward told her dismissively, doing his best to hold her off. Although she was beautiful, she was a viper.

"But I have missed you."

"Sounds like your problem." he told her, wondering why he bothered. She always got what she wanted. Except for one thing. Carlisle would not let her kill Bella. Something about Bella struck a cord with Rose. Perhaps it was Bella's innocence. Perhaps it was her beauty which in Edward's opinion matched Rosalie's. Perhaps it was that Carlisle held Bella in such importance, even over Alice and especially Rose and Esme.

"True. I wonder what Jasper is up too tonight." Rose pondered. Edward cringed internally. As he thought, Rose always got what she wanted.

"Of course he is loyal to his mate to a fault. I wonder what the famous God of War would think of his beloved wife, fucking his coven mate? How have the two of you been doing? You and Alice I mean. I understand from Esme that Jasper has been traveling often, searching for your former fiancée. Have you been keeping your little sister company?"

Edward sighed and pulled off his shirt. He felt Rose's hands unbuckling his belt.

"Why do you do this Rose? I know you hate me." Edward observed.

"Because I like to remind you that I can." She answered honestly. Edward felt, no he knew, that Carlisle would be receiving a visit from Rose tonight as well.

_Wonderland, Cheyenne Wyoming_

"Chris?"

Chris woke with a start. Turning he saw it was 2 AM. Harris was on the intercom. He pressed the button to speak.

"Yes?"

"It's Shelby. She just hit her alarm. She had an episode and she wants you."

"An episode or a nightmare?" Chris asked. Shelby was a ten year old girl who could see the other side. See past the veil that protected the souls of the living from the souls of the dead who had not passed on to either Heaven or Hell or whatever names people called those places. She had to learn to control this or she could be a conduit for those souls to enter this world. There were many ways ghosts could inhabit this world. Possessing others for a short time being the most prevalent. Doing so by means of a child was not uncommon. Demon possession was the greatest risk but they usually preferred adults who had played with forces they had no control over and gave little thought to. Luckily Chris had never encountered a demon.

He had been working with Shelby since she was six. Her parents brought her to a psychiatrist after her great grandmother had used the child to speak to her granddaughter. After numerous tests the psychiatrist called the phone number he had been given by a government agent long ago. The same number certain psychiatrists and clergy all over the country had and never spoke about. His number.

Her mother and father were so afraid it was a simple matter for Chris to convince them that Shelby could be cared for here at his ranch. He gave them a brief tour, explaining it was a boarding school of sorts for those who are different. He expected resistance.

After thirty minutes they were begging Chris to take her.

She was a sweet child but seeing the pain and regrets of the entities that resided between realms was difficult for her. Still she learned and had not had an episode in a very long time.

"I think it was an episode Chris. When she called she sounded … flat. Same tone she uses every time she comes out of one of those … things. She refuses to go back to sleep until she talks to you."

"I'm on my way." Chris told him and began to dress.

Five minute later he strode into Shelby's room and found her sitting up in bed, back against her head board.

"Hey sweetie. What's got you worked up tonight? Bad dreams?"

Shelby looked over quickly at Chris, relief obvious on her young face, at his appearance.

Even in the dim light Chris could see her face was abnormally pale. He knew this had been no nightmare. Shelby did not scare easily.

"Chris I didn't mean to."

"You didn't mean to what pumpkin?"

"I went to sleep and I…I felt I was being pulled… and then I opened my eyes and saw …"

"You saw the other side?"

"Yeah…"

"Who was pulling you Shelby? Did you see who it was?"

"No. But Chris I have to show you. It was so strange. Chris there aren't supposed to be doors there. I mean you can visit but… Chris there were so many…"

"So many doors?"

"No, so many people. So many souls. Why don't they understand they are dead? They are supposed to go the other way. Not here. They can't come here."

"I know sweetie. But we talked about this. Some souls aren't ready to move on. They aren't trying to come back. They are just stuck, either scared of what's comin or they got too many regrets to move on to a better place."

"Not like this. They were banging on the doors Chris. I've never seen so many. The noise they made. Chris these were the bad ones. They are the ones who felt drawn to the bad place. They are trying to escape. I don't know how the doors can hold. I have to show you."

"No." Chris said calmly, doing his best not to raise his voice. While he wanted his charges to grow in their abilities they had to do so slowly. The fact that Shelby felt pulled meant someone or something on the other side could use her. He wouldn't allow it.

"Chris please. You have to see. It's different. If you come with me I will be safe. I have to show you. I won't feel safe until I do. You have to see. You have to keep them from breaking down the doors."

The conviction in her young voice nearly broke his resolve. But no… he would not do that to her. He would tell her a story or sit up with her until exhaustion gave way to sleep but…

"You have to see." Shelby said in another voice. A voice that sounded like an elderly lady, cracked and scratchy. Before Chris had time to react, Shelby grabbed both his hands and her eyes rolled up in her head.

Chris had never felt power like this radiating off of her before.

He knew this wasn't Shelby. Whatever had drawn her was drawing both of them back. As powerful as Chris was he could not stop it.

The room disappeared around the two. They were in darkness, hands still clasped together.

A thunderous noise rose from beneath them. Chris looked down and what he saw sent genuine fear into his heart. He had walked here many times over the course of his life. Nothing prepared him for the horror he saw below.

Seven large stone doors were standing on the floor far below him, lighting up the darkness. In front of each door ten wide at least, a line of what must have been millions seemed to stretch forever. The doors should not be here. The souls were climbing over each other to get to the stone doors, beating on them. The noise was horrible. Chris looked closer and saw other creatures mixed in with the souls. Foul creatures Chris had never seen before but he knew what they were.

"Chris? I'm scared. Can we go now?"

Chris looked at the little girl whose hands still clutched his. Her eyes were wide and darting up and down the line of these damned souls and the …creatures.

Chris closed his eyes and focused on Shelby's hands and home.

The darkness and the noise rushed away quickly and Chris found himself back in Shelby's room his hands still being held by hers.

"Do you see? They are trying to get out. What were those … things, Chris?"

"Nothin for you to worry about little one. You showed me. I will handle it. Okay?"

Shelby nodded and laid back into her pillow.

"I know you will Chris. The good guys always win right?"

"That's right." Chris told her with a smile.

"Leave the hall light on Chris. Please?"

"Of course Shelby." Chris kissed her gently on the forehead and walked out, leaving her door open and the hall light on. Turning to check on her once more he saw she was in a sound sleep. He wondered if she would remember this in the morning. He hoped not.

Chris walked directly to Harris's office. Harris was one of the doctors who helped Chris monitor his young charges, along with three others. They took shifts, one always being awake while the children slept, monitoring the room with listening devices but keeping cameras turned off unless the child hit the panic button as Shelby did tonight.

"She okay?' Harris asked. Chris nodded but Harris recognized the concern on his face.

"Put all the mediums on dream suppressants." Chris ordered.

"I thought we talked about this. Unless it is absolutely necessary we decided…"

"I've decided that it is absolutely necessary. All the mediums. Let Shelby sleep and start them all in the morning. Keep her camera on in her room. If she so much as stirs around too much I want to know immediately." Chris told him.

"Yes sir. You're the boss." Harris said, shocked at the tone of Chris's voice. He was normally calm in every situation. Right now he had a definite edge to him Harris had never seen or heard before.

Chris stopped at that statement and realized he needed to calm down.

"I apologize if I seem harsh Harris. Shelby showed me some things that have me worried. I am afraid our children may be in danger of being pulled across the veil against their will. Something is going on. I don't know what but I will find out. Until then I need to know my kids are safe."

"I'll have the meds started at breakfast." Harris told him. He was a man of science but Harris he had seen many things here at Wonderland the proved to him science couldn't explain everything. He also had absolute faith in Chris.

Chris walked across the ground to his small house in the center of the complex where he lived alone. Walking to his study he picked up the phone and dialed the number of an old friend.

After four rings, a sleepy voice answered.

"I wouldn't have given you my direct line if I knew you would actually use it." President David Rodriguez answered. "Do you know what time it is? I know you live on a ranch but unless we are invading a nation I prefer to sleep until at least six, Chris."

"Dave I need you to contact you priest friend in New York. He served with you right? Francis something?"

"Yeah … I thought you didn't like organized religion Chris? I believe narrow minded and rigid were some of the terms you used."

"I need an expert or at least someone who can get me in contact with an expert. He's friends with you. He must have friends in the Vatican. I need to see their archives. The real ones."

"Yeah, I'm not sure the Pope could get you in there. What sort of expert do you need?"

"One in demonology."

"You serious? What has Winter got into? I thought she was taking some down time while her new partner …"

"This isn't Winter, Dave. I need to speak to an expert who can keep his mouth shut. Is your friend the man for the job?"

"Yeah. Francis …I'll call him. Get him on a plane to you first thing in the morning."

"I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important."

"How important?"

"End of the world important." Chris told him

Dave sighed.

"It always seems to be, doesn't it? I guess if the jobs were easy we wouldn't have been given them. Okay, I'm calling him now. You going to tell me exactly what this is about?"

"As soon as I am sure you will be the first to know." Chris told him and ended the call.

Walking over to his library he started his computer and began a search in his personal archives. He had no history of dealing with demons other than seeing the stray one dragging a soul into the darkness on the other side of the veil. He knew enough to be worried though.

_Death Valley California_

When Bella had exited the barracks she was prepared to hike. To run if necessary. To do whatever it took to succeed.

She was not prepared to be taken to the base's airfield. She was not prepared to climb into a helicopter and she was most definitely not prepared to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Literally.

"Where are we Jason?" she asked once the helicopter had flown far enough away to hear. She knew it was hot. Mountains and rough terrain surrounded the two of them but they were in a desert of some sort. It reminded her of the Arizona deserts she loved but harsher. Everything here seemed desolate. No, seem was not the correct word. Everything was desolate.

"Death Valley. Our new home for the next few weeks." Jason answered, already beginning to walk away.

"You brought me to Death fucking Valley for a hike?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"You think we were going on a nature trail? I figured you would be happy. Look around. No ocean." Jason pointed out. "Let's move. I want to find a good place to set up shelter before sundown."

"There is a good place?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yep. We don't want to get caught down here in a flash flood. We are headin to the Eastern border. See that short mountain range? Those are the Funeral Mountains. We are going to hike up as high as we can get before dark and set up there."

"Did you say Funeral Mountains?"

"You seem to have a knack for restating what I say. Are you okay? Sword not working right or what?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Bella told him. She had thought hell week was over. She had a feeling by the end of the day she would be missing the cold ocean water. He had brought her to the closet place resembling hell on Earth.

The two hiked without a word all day. Around noon, Connolly stopped and handed Bella an energy bar and a canteen of water from the pack he carried. They stopped for approximately five minutes and then they began again.

An hour before sunset and Bella's legs were screaming. Connolly tossed her a thin sleeping back and rolled out on for himself. They were both light brown and blended with the mountain.

"No tent?" she asked.

"You want to share a tent with me?" he asked back with a grin. Bella could feel herself blush and had no idea she could still do that. Luckily her face was so red from the sun all day he wouldn't notice.

"Nope." Bella responded as soon as she had he bearings, lying through her teeth.

"I don't suppose you brought any pillows?" she hoped.

"Yeah there are some fluffy pillows in your backpack covered in satin covers. Go ahead and pull them out."

Bella looked doubtfully at her backpack. She had yet to open it and figure she should at least see what was in this beast that weighed as much as she did.

Bella saw weapons. Guns, ammo, knives. She saw handguns and rifles and the kind of small machine guns she only saw in gangster movies. She also saw hunks of what looked like clay in bags. At the very bottom was a milk gallon full of water with a canteen next to it.

Taking out a package of clay she showed it to Connolly.

"What is this?"

"Explosives." He answered nonchalantly, leaned back and taking in the setting sun.

"You had me walking around in this heat with explosives all day?"

"They aren't dangerous. At least not until you make them dangerous. Relax."

"I am relaxed." Bella told him. "I was just wondering."

The two sat in silence. Bella pulled off her boots. She had worn a light long sleeve camo shirt and beige pants with multiple pockets running up both legs all day.

She winced at the smell of her feet when she took off her boots.

"Oh my God."

Jason looked over and saw her feet. A few busted blisters, more hard callouses and the bottoms of her feet resembled leather.

"Don't put anything on them unless something looks infected." Jason advised. "Once the blister goes away and the pus dries it likely won't blister again. I got some socks for you to change into but we only got one pair and there ain't a lake for a very long ways. So don't plan on clean clothes or anything else clean for a while unless it is in that pack."

"Uh …okay. Are we hiking tomorrow as well or…?"

"Tomorrow we get up when the sun rises and begin training. Every morning we start with and two hours PT. Stretch and run. At least two miles, ending back here. We do as many push ups and sit ups as we can. By the end of week 6 of your training I expect you to be able to do as many as I can in five minutes and run 5 miles in less than 30 minutes over this terrain. Then we will hike along the mountains. There isn't a smooth trail so we are going to be going over loose rocks and rougher terrain than you faced today. After PT we start a ten mile hike to that peak over there." Jason told her, pointing to a mountain that seemed to be far enough away to be on another state. Come to think of their location it could be in Nevada.

"Why? What's over there? More dirt?" Bella asked.

"Our next supply point. A chopper will drop off supplies we will need. Targets, water, rations. Everything we need to survive. It's cheating but bringing you out here with nothing but the clothes on your back would be suicide for damn near anyone."

After sitting in silence Bella began to notice it was growing cooler. Her body started to relax and she lay back on her bag. Soon the stars were in the sky and she had something to draw her attention from the man who was next to her.

"Can I ask you a question?" Bella asked, finally breaking the silence.

"You can ask me anything you want."

"Why do I have to learn to use these weapons? I mean if I get into battle it is going to be natural for me to want to draw my katana. What does it matter if I am an expert at handling these weapons?"

"Bella do you know much about real Samurai?"

"I know they were warriors in Japan's past."

"True. In battle the samurai never used their sword first. They always used a bow to kill the enemy from a distance. When that failed they used spears. Only when the enemy was close and all else had failed did they draw their blades. They believed their soul resided in their sword. To a samurai, drawling their blade was equivalent to unleashing their soul. To do so meant there was a danger of being overran and they would fight to the death.

Now I imagine Winter has told you what happened to Summer correct?"

"Yes."

"Imagine a scenario where Winter saw Jane drop Summer and she was too far away to use her own blade. But in this scenario, Winter pulled a .45 and shot Jane between the eyeballs before her mouth could get near her sister's throat.

When that happened, we did not have a weapon capable of doing that. Now we do. Weapons just like those you will be training with. Only the ammo is different. If Winter had those weapons, those bows and spears you might say, her sister could still be alive. Do you see?"

"Yes." Bella admitted. It made sense. But …

"But I feel natural with the sword. Like it's an extension of me."

"I feel natural with any weapon. So will you, by the time I am done with you." Jason told her.

"Then why are we wasting time at sun up running and doing push ups? Shouldn't I spend all day practicing shooting?"

"We start every day with the same routine. It's part of being disciplined, even when you don't have a drill sergeant standing over you. Besides your endurance sucks. Running, push-ups, learning hand to hand combat. These are all things you need to learn. Your balance needs improving. Your sword may feel natural but you don't fight naturally, with or without it. This has to change."

Bella felt anger at his bard about her endurance. The rest she freely admitted to being faults.

"If my endurance is so bad then how did I survive last week?" she asked, doing her best to keep her anger in check.

"You think you survived last week because of your endurance? You weren't in good shape. How many packs of cigarettes did you go through a day before you arrived at Coronado? The sword gave you strength at times but it wasn't enough over the hours and hours of training you went through. No that was your heart and mind that kept you from quitting. Both those told your body to keep going, to keep fighting, to run on bone when the muscles failed.

A warrior needs to be emotionally, mentally and physically prepared. You were prepared emotionally and mentally. Now in addition to fighting skills, you need to develop your body to help your mind and your heart. That is what we are doing here in this hell hole."

Bella said nothing, understanding creeping in her heart and beginning to mentally prepare herself for the physical exhaustion that would have no end in sight.

"I understand." Bella told him finally.

They both lay back, six feet away from each other on a rocky outcropping looking at the stars in silence. It was Jason that broke the silence first.

"I owe you an apology."

"For what?" Bella asked, confused.

"Last week. I should have been the one who put you through that. Not Jack. They should have been there but I should have been the leader. Those guys hated every second of what they had to put you through."

"Even Hawk?' Bella asked doubtfully.

"Okay maybe not Hawk. But still, it should have been me. Don't hold it against those guys."

"I don't." Bella said immediately, surprising even herself. Away from the week at Coronado she felt none of the hatred she had at the time.

She did remember Ty Gavin and Jack Webb's muddy faces as they crawled under the wires with her, through mud.

"Good. Like I said, it was my fault. It should have been me. This is my team and my responsibility and I let you down. Here I will be training with you. Here everything we do, we will do together. Here I can think more clearly. Last week …"

"Why? Why didn't you train me last week?"

Connolly sighed and continued looking at the stars. Bella figured she wouldn't get an answer so she left it alone. Perhaps he had fallen asleep. She did her best to keep her gaze on the stars and not on the man next to her.

"Because I knew you were going to hate your instructors for the majority of that week and the idea of you hating me at any time bothered me more than it should. I couldn't stand the idea. I shouldn't say this. I never felt anything more than lust for a woman until the first time I saw you. I only tell you this because I owe you the truth, not to make some half assed pick up attempt on a mountain."

Bella couldn't hold back the smile on her face and hoped it was dark enough that he wasn't able to see it.

"I forgive you. Just promise me that you won't hold back on me. You are right. I need to learn everything you know. I know it will be difficult. I will only hate you if I think you are holding back on me. I've been taken care of enough in my life. I don't want mercy."

"I promise. Besides it's getting easier every day." Jason said quietly. Bella rolled over and looked at him.

"Why do you say that?" she asked, the hope that the feelings his first look had stirred in her may be returned, fading.

"Your face is beat red, your feet look like leather and I know for a fact you haven't shaved your legs or armpits in over two weeks. By the time this week is over Gavin is going to seem more attractive than you are." he said seriously.

Bella lay flat on her back and gritted her teeth.

Until she heard him laughing.

"I'm just fuckin with you Bella."

"You're an asshole." Bella said, fighting back the smile creeping onto her face.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I ever will see. But I promise you, I won't hold back on you. I'll give you everything I got." he said quietly, causing her heart to flutter more than it should in her wretched condition.

Bella felt sleep threatening to overtake her. She was not ready for the conversation to end.

"Jason can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Is It hard…to …I mean I'm sure you have done it a lot… is it hard to kill people?"

"That depends on a couple things Bella."

"Like what?" she asked.

"How fast they are running, if they are shooting back, line of sight, cover …"

Bella started laughing before he could finish.

"That is not what I meant asshole!" she told him, once her laughter had died down.

"I know. For me, no, it's never been hard. I am a Marine. A Navy Seal. I was born to do what I do and I am at peace with that. There are people and things in this world that need killing and I take a certain amount of pride that I am one of the chosen instruments who get to accomplish that task. Some people are born to be doctor's, nurses, social workers, spies, school teachers, craftsmen. I was born to do what I do. I've accepted that."

"What do you think I was born to do?" Bella asked, almost afraid the answer might be blood donor. She didn't know if she could take a shot like that from him,

"You were born to fight by my side. By Winter's side. You were born to be here with me standing between the forces of evil and the innocent people who just want to carry on with their everyday lives and do what they are meant to do. Of that I have no doubt. You are doing exactly what you were meant for. I wouldn't be here in this damn place if I thought I was wasting my time. I ain't one to waste time."

"You ain't?" Bella quipped, ignoring the pride that swelled in heart at his words. "Where the hell did you learn to speak English? Where are you from? You know all my dirty secrets. You know my life. I want to know yours."

"I don't know your life except that there is nothing dirty about it. I know what was given to me in a file. To know you would take more time than just reading a file. But no worries. I have a feeling by the time this is over, we will know everything about each other. Right now we need to get some sleep. If you get cold do not come crawlin to me for body warmth."

"Why not?!' She asked, faking shock.

"Because the quickest way to warm a body is for two people to get naked and I already told you I know you haven't shaved your legs in two weeks."

Bella smiled and rolled over on her stomach. She eventually took her shirt off leaving her only in a sports bar and pants and crawled inside the sleeping bag, trying to use her shirt as some sort of pillow. She glanced at Connolly and even in the dark she saw he was still lying flat on his back staring at the sky with his eyes closed.

Before she knew it the sun was up peaking over the mountain tops. She cracked her eyes open and saw him.

He stood near the edge of a cliff, shirt off. At first she thought he may be doing Tai chi or yoga of some sort until she realized he was fighting. Fighting an invisible enemy it seemed only he could see. A part of her wondered what that enemy looked like in his mind.

Once he finished, she tried to not let her eyes linger on his sweat covered chest and flexing abs. He noted she was awake.

"Mornin beautiful. Time to get to work. You said you would only hate me if I held back on you. Can't take a chance on that. Get your ass up. We are goin for a three mile run. First mile and a half will be uphill over the rough terrain so watch your footing. When we get back it's pushups for five minutes and sit ups for five minutes. Then we do one hundred dive bombers. At least I will. We will see what you got in you. By the end of the week I will have you doing pushups on one hand."

Bella stood and stretched.

"What about the rest of the day?" she asked with a yawn.

"I'm going to teach you to fight. Hand to hand. You learn that we move to knives, then firearms, handguns, rifles. I'm going to teach you to be a sniper when necessary. How to blend in with the environment. How to survive. At the end of two weeks we leave. Then you learn how to skydive. You learn how to strap on an oxygen tank and blow shit up underwater. You learn about explosives on land. Then we will go to a different environment. You will learn how to survive there. How to use what nature has given you to live and kill.

After that I am going to teach you how to use that sword on your back. Then you will be ready to meet back up with Winter and the rest of the team. There are more guys than just the ones you met already. We will meet up at a base in Nevada and start to learn our new weapons. The ones we are going to kill vampires with and any other nasty thing out there. By the end of that we will be ready to start to take down our enemies wherever they may be found.

But the first thing we have to do is get out morning workout in, have an energy bar and a shit load of water and then hike ten miles to our next supply point. If we don't make it we are going to start getting really thirsty very quickly. Understand?"

"Yes sir. Got it." Bella told him, ready to begin. The pain in her muscles and feet no longer mattered to her. She had a job to do and she would not fail in front of him. Not with him beside her.

Plus the sooner this day was over the sooner the sun would set and she could begin asking him about his life. She sensed he didn't like to talk about it but she had to know. She had to know everything about the man.

"Good. Let's get our fine asses in gear Swan. Lot to do and not much time to do it. Vampires are killing more people every day. Sooner you are ready the sooner we can all put a stop to it."


	5. Chapter 5

Don't own Twilight. The original characters and plot are mine.

A/N So I'm watching Twlight on Telemundo. Have you ever done this? Its freakin great! All I could think of was the English subtitles I could place on the bottom of the screen that would make that movie so much funnier. Especially when Bella leaves Edward and sees her Dad after Waylon has been killed and Charlie gives her the pepper spray. The face she makes…I'm still laughing over it. Alas it is not to be. On with the story. Oh wait did you know Okay is okay in Spanish too? I didn't. I bet Mexicans have a blast watching this movie. Palest people on earth speaking Spanish. Best o soya-the best I can translate means look at me, I'm a very scary disco ball. Okay on with the chapter so I don't totally get off track here.

Chapter 5

_Jacksonville Beach Florida_

"You sure she knows what she is doing?" Michael 'Mikey' Allen, former member of Seal team 7 asked.

"She knows. Winter is CIA. She is a bad ass little girl. She can take whatever is thrown at her. She always has. You read her file, same as all the others." Ty told him peering through his scope at Winter. It was getting dark, the sun setting over the ocean and she had been told not to approach the house until complete darkness fell.

The reasons were simple. The changing light made any shots Ty might have to make difficult and if any resistance was met Ty wanted to test out the new ammo he had just received for his new rifle. That meant he wanted the fucker as strong as possible. Another reason is it would be easier to use his new scope. Webb, Hawk and Ty had just met up with Allen at the base in the desert no one talked about where the new toys were being developed. So far Ty liked what he saw.

"Winter can you hear me?" Webb asked. While Ty was looking out the bedroom window of a 7th story luxury condo looking down on the houses lining the beach with Allen beside him as his spotter, Webb was dressed like a beach bum walking the street with a metal detector propped over his shoulder. He was her immediate back up. Ty was secondary support if shit went real. Hawk had his job as well.

If this op went off without a hitch a few things could be accomplished. First, the team members would actually get to see a real live vampire and could confirm the suspicion that Bella Swan was still being looked for and her family members watched. The second was they would have the location of said vampire. The third would be to test the scopes and see if they could be set to pick up certain temperature patterns and not just ones that emit the most heat, the way a typical human would. Scientists estimated the enemy ran around 90 degrees or so based on how long it had been since the vampire last fed.

And third was to make contact with Renee.

Many of the team felt this was unnecessary, but Connolly insisted and Connolly was the boss.

Winter also felt it was necessary. Her and Summer never had parents. Not ones they could remember at least. She felt it was important that Bella have hers in some form or fashion. That was why as the sun set she was walking in a long black coat, sword strapped to the inside and in easy reach, wearing a thick brown wig, down the street to Renee Dwyer's home. She was curious as to what would happen.

"Yeah Jack. I got you." Winter whispered. "I'm taking out my earpiece though. Vampire might see it. Slipping it in my pocket so you should be able to hear everything. If it looks like he or she will attack I will handle it. If there are more than two, bring the heat."

"Copy. Be careful. I will be around the back of the house, beach side, ready to move. Tango is the call. Copy Ty?"

"Copy."

"Hawk you there?"

"I know my job. Worry about yours." Hawk replied tersely.

Winter knocked on the door. Within seconds a very tired middle aged woman who looked older than her years opened up.

Her face registered shock, then disappointment, then confusion as Winter's face from a few years back dawned on her in recognition.

"Can I come in?"

"Wi…"

"Please? This is important." Winter told her before her name could be said.

"Of course. Your hair…"

"May I come in Mr's Dwyer?" Winter stressed looking up and down the street.

Renee stepped aside and Winter stepped inside. As soon as the door was closed Winter placed her fingers to her lips and pulled out a badge. It was an FBI badge.

CIA badges tended to put people off for some reason, Winter found.

"This is a lovely home you have. How has Bella been? I haven't seen her in years and was hoping to catch up."

Winter saw the pain on Renee's face and then confusion as Winter pulled off her wig while stepping into the kitchen. She motioned with her hands for something to write with. Renee slowly walked over to a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil, placing it in front of Winter where she sat at the table.

"I actually haven't seen or heard from Bella in a couple years. She was supposed to get married if you can believe that and then she called the whole thing off. She went on the road to find herself but unfortunately I haven't been able to find her. I fear the worst. How have you been…"

_No names_ Winter wrote.

"I've been good. I just happened to be in town for vacation and I had heard from Bella a couple years ago that you were living here. I thought you might be able to give me a lead on her whereabouts." Winter said and then began to write.

_Bella is in witness protection. She witnessed a crime and is being protected. This is why she has not contacted you. She wants you to know she loves you and she is okay._

_Are you really with the FBI? How? You and Bella are the same age._ Renee wrote, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I really can't help you. I'm sorry Wi… I wish I knew where she was. You have no idea how badly I wish I knew where she was."

_I was recruited out of high school along with my sister. Since we knew Bella we were placed on her case. She is doing well. You will see her again. Soon I hope. By the end of the year maybe._

_Is she in a lot of danger?_

_I'm protecting her. I give you my word she is safe. Do not tell anyone, even your husband, about this visit. If anyone asks an old friend came by to see if Bella was here. Understand?_

Renee nodded.

"I'm sorry I can't be more help. If I hear from her I will definitely tell you that you stopped by."

"I appreciate it Renee." Winter told her, placing the brown wig back on her head. Renee looked at her quizzically but Winter shook her head and wrote one last thing on the paper.

_You are probably being watched. I have to find out. Act naturally or your life could be in danger. Understand?_

Taking the paper, she pulled a lighter from her coat pocket, lit the paper on fire and tossed it in the sink. Satisfied the paper was sufficiently burnt. She ran some water to wash away the ashes. Renee walked her to the door.

Before leaving Winter pulled out her earpiece and placed it back in her ear.

"I am leaving. I get first shot if one or two show up. If more arrive have fun Jack. I am going silent. You can talk but not unless necessary and shit goes down. Stay quiet. We have no idea how well their hearing is at night."

After giving Renee a hug Winter began walking off.

Before she had made the end of the block a voice from behind stopped her.

"Bella?"

Winter turned and saw a giant before her. He was the size of Hawk easily. He had dark hair that looked like it had been dyed blonde recently. A poor job indeed. She also noted his golden eyes. So he had been feeding from Bambi, most likely not to draw attention to the area.

"I'm sorry?"

"Emmett recognized she was not Bella the moment she turned around.

"No I am. You looked like someone I know."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"What's your name?" Emmett asked.

"Excuse me? Being a bit forward aren't you?" Winter asked.

"My apologies. We don't get new people around here often." He said and then lightly laughed, Winter supposed to put her at ease. Every fiber of her body wanted to fight this thing but she resisted. This was bigger than one vampire.

"I was here to see an old friend. I thought maybe she lived with her mother. I came here on vacation but apparently she doesn't live here. I don't suppose you know her? Bella Swan?'

She noted the painful look in the vampire's eyes.

"No, I don't. Kinda hot to be wearing such a long coat." He mentioned.

"I carry a sawed off shot gun in it. A girl can't be too careful at night." Winter told him.

Emmett had a look of shock on his face until Winter began to laugh. He joined her.

"You had me." he admitted.

"So do you live around here? I mean you must. Have you seen Bella lately? Her mother has no idea where she is. Sad really. I hope she is okay." Winter mused.

"Yeah. I live over there." Emmett told her, pointing to a house three houses down across the street.

"Got it. The blue one across the street three houses over to my right. So how do you know Bella? She lived in Phoenix and moved to Forks. When I found out she wasn't there I assumed she had visited her mother. No luck. If she hasn't never been here, how do you know her?"

"Oh …uh Renee has mentioned her before. I saw pictures in Renee's house. I wanted to meet the mystery lady. I saw your brown hair and you builds are so similar I thought I would take a chance. So where are you staying?" Emmett asked smoothly looking her in the eyes with a soft smile. Winter realized he was trying to enthrall her.

"The Holiday Inn on the beach. I really should be going."

"Would you like to come over for a cup of coffee? I just made a pot."

"At this hour? No I would never sleep. But I appreciate the invite. You take care of yourself Emmett. I really do hope you get to see Bella swan one day. I'm sure she would love to meet you." Winter told him honestly. A buzzing went off in her ear. Slight enough that only she should be able to hear it. She found she was wrong though.

"What is that in your ear?" he asked.

"You are observant. Shall I grab my shotgun?" she asked reaching into her coat with one hand where her sword rested on the grip and checking the area with her gift to see if other vampires were around. Summer saw none apparently. It could be a clean kill but they would just draw more suspicion to Renee's house if a vampire went missing.

"Hey no! You are right. Not my business."

"It's blue tooth for my iPod if you must know. I have an IPod in my coat."

"Sounds like you keep a lot in your coat."

"Oh you have no idea of the surprises I have in here. I really have to go."

Winter began walking away and Emmett didn't follow. Once she was a safe distance away she turned on the voice piece in her ear.

"You got no idea how close I was to smoking that fucker." Ty told her.

"Did the job get done?" Winter asked.

"Tracker and listening device in his car and home, wallet and phone. We will know every move he makes and every word he speaks in his house or near his cell." Hawk answered.

"He may smell you." Winter observed.

"Not if this scent blocker works." Hawk replied.

"Yeah but even that has its limits Hawk. I should have gone in. Your stink is distinct." Ty mentioned.

"Quiet, he is following her on foot. Winter try to grab a cab." Webb instructed.

"There are no cabs." Winter whispered preparing to fight.

"Summer." she whispered.

The street lights above Emmett's head exploded, darkening the sidewalk.

Winter ducked into an alley, ran to the end and jumped the six foot fence to the beach without breaking stride. She ran to the water and waded in, Jack Webb meeting up with her and running into the water. Winter took out her sword and strapped it to her back. Rolling up the jacket she jumped in the water with Webb. Two other Seals were hidden in the water, only heads and rifles above water, solid black. If Winter didn't know they were there she never would have seen them. Their rifles were pointed the direction she had come. She and Webb went underwater as deeply as possible in the calm seas, only surfacing every three minutes to gain a breath.

Five minutes after the street lights blew out over his head, Emmett followed Winter's scent. He lost her in the ocean. Her footprints and another's disappeared into the water. In the darkness not even he could see where she had gone.

Emmett had no idea what happened. She must have had a boat. Was she here to see if Bella's mother was being watched? If so he fell for her game. It was a con. But by who? Bella? Would she come out of hiding, and convince a girl she didn't know, even a former friend to place a wig on her head and fool Emmett from a distance into thinking she was Bella.

Bella must be near. He had to find her. Maybe she picked her friend up in the boat. If Emmett hadn't been so distracted by those lights he could have followed the girl.

The girl and Jack Webb surfaced two miles away for the final time, grabbing on to John Bradford's hand where he waited for the two in an inflatable raft.

"Everything go okay?" She asked Bradford.

"He left his wallet in the house if you can believe that shit. Got a GPS tracker inside it as well. Also got his cell phone signal so we will be able to listen and track him. He isn't making a move or a sound without us knowing about it."

"Yeah Hawk told us. He did good. You and Mikey stay back. Keep an eye on Dwyer. If he looks like he is going to make a move on a human especially Dwyer take him out with extreme prejudice. Remember he is strongest at night so make it a head shot." Jack ordered.

"Copy that sir. You guys heading back to Nevada?"

"Yep."

"When is Commander Connolly going to be arriving?"

"You know Connolly. He will be there when he gets there. Until then we follow his orders and try not to do anything stupid that will piss him off later."

_Death Valley California_

Bella had been here for four days. Every morning she woke up and performed PT with Jason. Every day they hiked until two hours before sundown, when Bella began performing punches and kicks at Connolly's hands. Every night instead of talking to him she found herself asleep at sundown. Her body desperately needed water and sleep. The drop points gave her water. Sleep was up to her. Tonight she was determined to stay up.

"How can you do it? Stay up so late and be up before me every morning?"

"I trained myself to operate on four hours sleep tops. You will get there." He told her while taking out the large blade from its holster and beginning to rub it across his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Shaving. Gotta look my best." He laughed.

"Doesn't that hurt your face?" Bella asked, looking at his sunburned skin.

"Is there anything on you that doesn't hurt? I feel the same. I've done everything you have."

Bella admitted it was true. As opposed to what she went through last week Connolly did everything with her. PT, running, hiking, he was there encouraging her to do more, go faster. He wasn't rude about it. He just encouraged her. When she wanted to stop she stopped. The problem was, Bella found more every day that she didn't want to stop.

"Tomorrow we make the next drop by noon and we start learning how to shoot. We are going to have to hump it. I can't leave top secret ammo and weapons just lying around in the desert."

"No problem." Bella answered without hesitation. "Hey when you are done can I borrow your knife?"

"For what?" Jason asked her.

"You said it yourself. My legs are getting as hairy as yours and my armpits are scratchy as hell. If your knife is sharp enough to shave your face it should work for me."

"I don't exactly have any shaving lotion here." Jason pointed out.

"I didn't ask for any. I asked for your knife." Bella pointed out. Jason shrugged his shoulders.

"Knock yourself out." He told her handing the knife over. Bella wiped it on her pants and stood up.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she unbuttoned her pants.

"I can't exactly shave with my pants on."

Before Connolly could peel his eyes away Bella was standing in a t shirt and panties.

"I'll go and give you privacy."

"No! I mean we don't have any reason to be modest. It's no different than bikini bottoms. Have a seat. I want company." Bella told him.

Connolly sat down and gazed into the darkness. He couldn't help his eyes darting toward Bella as she sat in the firelight, legs stretched out.

"Ow!"

"Be careful. It's sharp." he told her.

"Yeah no shit. I cut myself."

Connolly in concern, was in his feet and at Bella's side in a second.

"Where? I can't have it getting infected out here."

"It's fine. Just a knick. See?" Bella told him. Jason was relieved to see it was only a nick.

"You have the knife blade turned the wrong way. It's too sharp to play with. Maybe you should just wait." Connolly suggested.

"Or you could do it for me?" Bella suggested, the idea strangely erotic to her. She had gotten quite a bit of attention from him but not the kind she wanted.

Because over the past four days Bella had come to grips with a truth about herself. She wanted him. She had never wanted anyone who would be good for her. He would probably be no different but she didn't care. She wanted him. Once this training was done and she had learned everything he had to teach her she planned to make sure he understood her intentions.

"You want me to…to shave your legs?"

"I mean if it's inappropriate or something don't worry about it. I'll manage. I just thought since you were so good with the knife and …you know what? Forget I said that. It's embarrassing…" Bella reached for the knife but Connolly held it back.

"No. I can't have you slicing your leg. If I has to be done… I'll do it. I've just never shaved a woman's leg before. It probably won't be as fast as you are used to."

"Take all the time you need Jason. I'm not going anywhere." Bella told him with a wink of bravado she was not sure she felt, now that he realized how close his nose was to her bare feet.

Instead of the disgust she was afraid he would find she felt her foot being rubbed.

"Your feet are getting tougher. Still soft though. Put your foot on my knee."

Bella complied and while one of his hands rested on her calve muscle the other began to gently shave the outside of her leg. The blade felt like a normal razor and a part of her wondered how many people he had killed with it. Another, larger part didn't care. She let out a sigh and leaned back slowly, closing her eyes.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No. You are definitely not hurting me." She sighed.

He let the blade move so slowly up her leg and couldn't lie to himself. He enjoyed every moment of this. His hand traced where he had shaved noticing, feeling for the first time how smooth her skin was. His other hand stayed inside her thigh steadying her slightly shaking leg and not letting go. God how he wanted to be between her thighs buried inside her. As his blade reached her panty line, he told her he would have to go on top and the inside of her leg.

Bella agreed and laid back with her eyes closed. She was unable to sleep though enjoying the feel of his hands all over her legs. He too soon switched to her other leg where he rubbed her foot the same as he did the first one. Then starting at the ankle he repeated the process. It seemed slower this time. Once the inside of her thigh was as high as it would go he stopped.

"Take off your shirt." He told her. Instead of questioning she sat up immediately and did as he said, surprised to see her abdominal muscles contract and give her no problems in the motion. She remained in a sports bra and panties and realized quickly how hard her nipple were, not just because of the coolness of the night either.

"Place your hands behind your head." Jason told her.

Doing so she felt his blade slightly graze her skin shaving her armpits. She tried to hold her breath as he whispered to her not to move. His face was so close she couldn't stand it. Yet she did.

Once he was done with both arms he told her she could get dressed. Bella was in no mood to get dressed. She stretched out in her white sports bra and white cotton panties.

It's a nice night. I think I will sleep like this. Give my body and feet a chance to air out."

She lay on her stomach and placed her arms under her head as a pillow.

"I uh… I think I will go up a ways to the next outcropping. Take the field lenses and see if I can line out our path for tomorrow. You gonna be okay?"

"Of course I will." Bella told him, eyes closed.

Connolly immediately walked up the mountain. As soon as he was away Bella's eyes popped open and she used every trick he taught her to follow and be quiet. Once she caught sight of him she slid behind a rock. Peering around she saw what she needed to see.

He had his back to her but she knew what he was doing by the motion of his hands.

The sight of it turned her on even more. Her hands slipped below her panties where she squatted and her fingers found her clit. Soon two fingers were inside her and her thumb knew exactly what it was doing. She never took her eyes off of him.

She came when he did.

Trying to muffle the sound as best she could she moved quietly down the mountain back to the camp. Falling on the ground she continued to pretend to be asleep.

Connolly to his credit did not miss the signs of her presence. He didn't know she had been watching but she left one foot print. He would have to work on that later with her. Not now. He didn't want her to know he knew she was watching. He normally wouldn't have done this but the feel of her legs was too much for him. Her eyes closed, eyes that appeared to be in ecstasy, trusting him to run a blade across one of the most sensual parts of her body. A man could only take so much. Although Bella pretended to be asleep he knew by now her breathing patterns. She was not asleep but doing her best to make him think she was. He also noticed her panties were wet.

Focus Jason.

He closed his eyes and the sun was up before he knew it. The next day nothing was spoken about the night before. Connolly focused on hand guns. Bella was becoming much better. Almost as natural as he was. By midday they had moved to rifles. She needed much more work on this. They made their target by nightfall and both guzzled down water while Connolly showed Bella how to take apart and reassemble the rifles and hand guns she had shot today.

The next morning after PT they began hand to hand combat.

Bella was shown how to block strikes first. To use her body to move fluidily. Connolly spent more time on her footwork than anything else. They did not have to be to the next drop point until tomorrow so they had all the time they needed.

Once Bella slipped and found herself on one knee with Connolly's fist inches from her face where it had stopped.

He backed up and she stood angrily.

"Why didn't you hit me?"

"Why should I? You know what you did wrong."

"You know I can take it. You promised me you wouldn't hold back on me!"

"I'm not. There was no reason to hit you. You were down."

"If you had been a vampire you wouldn't have shown mercy." Bella told him seething.

"But I'm not and I did. Now get in position and do it right this time."

Once again Bella stumbled, on purpose this time. Once again Connolly's foot stopped inches from her face.

She said nothing, standing there glaring at him.

"I can't do it. I can't. I'm sorry." he said, shoulders dropping.

"Never hit a woman before?" Bella asked.

"Yeah once. She was an Iranian honeypot and tried to take me out in the bedroom. I side kicked her out of a fifth story window. You aren't trying to knife me in the gut. Big difference."

"You promised me."

"I'm giving you everything I got. I can't bring myself to hurt you. Not like that. If you want I can get Hawk out here. He will knock the hell out of you. But I can't do it. I can't watch!"

"Why the hell not!?" Bella screamed.

"Because for the first time in my life I think I'm falling in love with someone and the idea of causing you pain breaks my heart. Watching you go through hell week was bad enough! You think I wanted to bring you to a place called the fucking Funeral mountains in Death Valley? I'm giving you everything I can. Teaching you everything I can. But when it comes to hitting, you are going to have to get Winter to do it or one of the other guys. I can't. I'm sorry. I can show you how to defend yourself. How to hurt someone. But I can't hurt you."

Connolly threw down his gloves and stormed off up the mountain. Halfway up he broke into a run until Bella lost sight of him.

She stood there speechless.

He was falling in love with her?

She knew what she felt for him. She thought of … so many things. It was true he had put her through hell but he had been right alongside of her.

She was falling for him too. She knew it and didn't have a clue what to do about it.

So she began practicing her moves. She practiced back flips he had taught her. She practiced kicking. She practiced fighting an invisible enemy.

The enemy wasn't invisible to her. It was Edward Cullen. For the first time she drew her sword and began swinging gracefully. Flying back, sliding, thrusting. She was fighting a samurai on a ledge. She was fighting Aro while Jane stood watch in the background and Aro retreated from her blade.

She was fighting Jason.

And when the killing blow came even in her mind, she stopped. She understood. She could never hurt him either.

She sat and stared at the setting sun.

Eventually he came back to her.

""Im so…"

"I'm falling in love with you too." She said before the apology could come out of his mouth.

"You are?" he asked.

"Tell me everything."

"What do you want to know about?"

"Your life. I want to know everything."

"Okay." Jason sat down beside her and looked at the setting sun.

"I was born in Galveston, Texas. My parents were killed when I was 4 in a car wreck. I survived. I don't remember much about them but I do have one picture I keep. I was placed in the foster system. The family that took me in …well let's just say the only thing me and my foster mom had in common was we both got the hell beat out of us by the old man.

Only difference is I learned to fight. I learned to fight in the streets, in the school yard, anywhere I could. I read books about different methods of marital arts, I watched movies about Samurai and Kung Fu masters. I was always looking for fights. I got pretty good at it despite being kinda skinny. When I was fifteen, the old man tried to fight me and this time, I killed him. His wife told the cops it was self defense but I didn't have to snap his neck. She dragged his body to the bottom of the stairs. He was drunk and the cops didn't care much that a drunk had fallen down the stairs. That was the first time I killed someone. I was taken out of the home and figured I would bounce around a while longer until I was 17 and could get the hell out of town. I was tired of Galveston, tired of the memories.

A man named Max Kobatashi took me in. He already had three sons but they treated me as an equal from the day I stepped inside. Max had heard my story and thought I needed discipline. His idea of discipline was different than my former foster father. Max had been a Seal and knew everything there was to know about fighting and killing. He taught me more than that though. He taught me to be at peace with myself. He taught me to know my surroundings. And God did he teach me endurance. His sons and I fought often in the ring in his backyard. They were fast. I became faster. They were quick and I became quicker.

When I turned 18 I graduated high school. Max told me I had two options. College which he would pay for or the Marines. I chose the Marines. I was at peace with myself but the idea of sitting in a classroom any longer than I had to held no appeal for me. So I joined up. I was Force Recon for my first five years where I learned to track, combat tactics, how to knife fight. Close quarter combat. The fighting we did was different than what I learned from Max and more like the style I learned on the street. Brutal with no wasted movements. No one was bowing to an opponent before a match. I got recruited by a Seal and went through Buds. While in school I took advantage of the online college opportunities the Navy had. Got a degree in Phiosophy. Made Lieutenant. Worked my way up to Lt. Commander and was given command of my own team. Least till this popped up. Now I got two girls with magical swords and a hand picked team of guys I trust to fight the evil nasties of the world, most people think are legends. That's me in a nutshell."

"Wow." Bella whispered.

"Yep. Still fallin in love with me? The guy that killed his own step father."

"Yes." She answered without hesitation.

"Good." Jason said with a smile.

"What about women?" Bella asked.

"What about them?"

"Have you had girlfriends? I mean you must have right?"

"I've been with women if that is what you are asking. Girlfriends were never really my thing. I was on the move too much. Always looking for the next fight."

"Oh."

"What about you? Besides Cullen? Any boyfriends?"

"No." Bella answered immediately.

"Not even the shapeshifter? His name was Jacob right?"

"We uh…we kissed once. But that was it."

"So just you and Cullen then huh?"

"Well … I mean I let him drink my blood but that was as far as it went."

Connolly and Bella were silent.

"Hold up, if you never …and you and Jake never …and I know you didn't find anybody in the desert …you mean to tell me you are…?"

"A 20 year old virgin? Yep." Bella said with a blush, not meeting his eyes.

"Holy shit. I figured I would see a unicorn before I ever saw one of those." Jason whispered.

"Please don't make a big deal out of it. Don't say anything to anyone. Please?"

"Not a word." he told her. They sat in silence a while longer.

"You are the only one besides Max who I have ever told that I killed my foster father." Jason said quietly.

"I'll take it to the grave." She told him. He nodded. He knew she would.

"Well we need to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. We leave Death Valley."

"Where are we going?" Bella asked.

"To the Island."

"The Island?"

"Yep. Top secret location. Don't worry you are going to love it once we get there."

"How do we get there?" Bella asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"We are going to jump."

"I've never jumped." She told him.

"You will tomorrow. It's time you learned to jump, to work underwater and make yourself invisible in jungle terrain. You can't do that here. Relax. You trust me right?"

"With my life." she answered honestly.

"Good. I trust you with mine. Now relax and get some sleep." Jason rolled over on his back and closed his eyes.

"Hey Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"You are really falling in love with me?" she asked quietly.

"Yep." He said with a grin, eyes still closed.

"Then you think you could kiss me goodnight?"

Connolly rolled back over.

Moving towards Bella his lips met hers softly. She opened her mouth slightly and felt the warmth of his tongue.

It seemed to last forever though in reality it was only a few seconds. When he rolled back over he didn't move away like he normally did. Instead he pulled his roll over to her and lay next to her. She lay her head on his shoulder and the two drifted off to sleep, both having similar dreams.

For the first time in a long time Bella only dreamed of the man next to her.

_Outside Los Alamos New Mexico_

"She was here, just like the guy at the gas station said. That's her beat up Cheville parked outside. This place hasn't been lived in for months though. Probably since he last saw her." Jasper mused, looking the residence over. It could hardly be called a house.

"Damn girl went to some extraordinary lengths to hide from ya'll. Wonder where she went?" Peter asked.

"You tell me. You are the one who knows shit." Jasper said with a grin.

"I don't know shit about this girl any more than your loving wife does. Where is that bitch anyway?"

"Where do you think? She heard Edward was making a trip to Forks and had to join him. She was afraid the wolves might try something."

"Why are we doing this? You know that bitch is cheating on you Jasper. Let's end her and be done with it. Find Edward and end him too if you want. Why the hell are we still chasing Bella for Carlisle?"

"This isn't for Carlisle. Bella is the key to everything. The Volturi, the Cullens, whatever big bad you feel is coming."

"I didn't say she had anything to do with it." Peter said quickly.

"Trust me Peter, if an Armageddon is coming Bella will find her way into the middle of it. Besides if I decide to kill Alice she will see it and run. I don't have time to chase her down. No it will be a split second decision. Bella … I don't know why I need to find Bella. To keep her from the others I suppose."

"Why?" Charlotte asked.

"Because fuck them, that's why." Jasper spit out. His anger at Alice and all the Cullens spilling through. "Carlisle played to many games. Now he has the Volturi involved. This is going to turn into all out war and it isn't our business. She got caught up in it. If we can hide her long enough for the two factions to blow themselves away maybe she has a chance."

"A chance at what? A normal life? It's too late for that shit Jasper." Peter commented.

"Peter you know things. I always listen to you. Now I have a gut feeling it is important we find her before the Cullens and Volturi. I just know it."

"Fine man. But she ain't here and we got no way of knowin where she went."

"I know. But we missed her by a couple months. Next time it may be a couple weeks or a couple days. We keep looking. We need to find her if we plan on surviving this darkness you feel coming."

It appeared Jasper would be calling Jenks in the morning. Not one of the others had gotten this close to Bella Swan since she left. Jasper planned to keep it that way.


	6. Chapter 6

Do not own Twilight. The OCs and lot are mine.

A/N Shorter chapter than normal for this story but it had to happen to get some things moving. Okay couple things popped up in reviews. A few reviews asked why Emmett didn't realize Winter knew his name last chapter even though he never gave it. I give you option A. Emmett is too stupid to realize it but it will come to him later and be a huge part of the story or option B- I screwed up and didn't realize I put it in there. I'll give you a hint it's option B. It happens. I hadn't realized it before but it has come to my attention that some readers are new to me with this story. So I remind new readers I'm just a guy with a laptop who has fun and writes for free and works a regular job most of the week. I could spend ten chapters detailing every bit of Bella's training but you guys would get bored. I would get bored. We would all be bored. This is not a good thing in my opinion. So we move things up a bit faster to get some action going. That's the way I do things. Like I mentioned to one reader there are a lot of writers who do things better but you have to shell out bucks to read them. There are even a lot of fanfic writers who do things better. I'm just me being me and havin fun and hoping you are all havin fun with me.

As far as the health questions I have gotten, the procedure looks like it will take place in the first two weeks of November with the hospital stay starting in October. Yeah it pisses me off because I hoped to have this done in August but it has been 6 or 7 years since this started so I guess a few months more won't kill me.

The review numbers on this story are amazing and I hope ya'll keep em up. Somebody told me the other day that Twilight was kinda a dying fan forum and I pointed out that my readers didn't think so, so thanks guys. Anyway on with the story. Bella's training is about to be interrupted and Ty and Winter are about to have some fun. Jasper, Peter Garrett questions…you are just going to have to wait and see where those guys fall ;) But to give you a hint you know I love those guys most of the time and you know Father Francis and Garrett are buds. Later.

_The Island_

Bella and Jason did not leave for the island the next day as planned. A quick stop at San Diego Jump Station showed Jason that pushing Bella out of an airplane with little practice time could be extremely dangerous even with him present in the air with her.

So the two spent the next three days at the airport. Jason had Bella hung in suspension while she attempted to control her body in the air. Soon she was jumping off of high dives into a net four stories below.

Bella had hoped to continue the closeness the two had found in Death Valley. Instead it seemed every hour was dedicated to training. In between jumps she was taught to scuba dive. Then she was taught to scuba dive at night. She was taught to plant explosives underwater and set up detonators. He was with her through it all but neither had time for the intimacy they showed in the desert.

Bella was hungry for knowledge, so she focused on learning as much as she could in as short a time as possible.

After two weeks, Bella was woken by a kiss to her forehead. She knew it was him. Looking at the clock in her barrack she saw it was three AM.

"Ready for a night jump?" Jason asked.

"A real one? I thought we were going to do a day jump first?"

"Anyone can do that. If you aren't ready say the word."

Bella was ready.

An hour later she was in a plane in the dark, dressed in a black jump suit and a heavy backpack carrying more than just a suit.

Jason showed her the altimeter on her wrist. She had left her sword in her barracks. This was on her.

The red light went off and Bella jumped without thinking.

She screamed falling into a pit of darkness.

At least until she felt a hand on hers.

She opened her eyes and could make out the face of Jason inches from her. He moved closer and kissed her as best he could, their goggle touching. Jason pointed to her altimeter causing Bella to focus. She checked her altitude and saw she had time. She had space. With him here she began to enjoy the ride.

Too soon his hand let hers go and they broke apart.

Bella estimated she had ten seconds.

Five seconds.

She pulled the ripcord, afraid at first that nothing had happened.

Then she felt the jerk casing her stomach to lurch. Her fall slowed but she was still descending. She tried to make out the ground but through the goggles she could not do so. Checking her slightly glowing altimeter she saw she was twenty feet away and prepared for a landing on ground.

Instead she felt the icy water enveloping her.

She felt lost underwater. She held her breath and began kicking her feet. Breaking the surface she found herself under her black canopy. Jason popped up under her smiling.

"Reach back and unhook your chute. Take the weights on your sides and hang them on the canopy." He told her.

Bella did as she was told. The canopy began to slide away from her pack and over her head. Soon it was on its way to the bottom and only she and Jason were left floating in the water.

"Inside the outer pocket of your pack is a regulator and a mask. Place them on. We don't have fins so we will have to swim about a mile in to the beach. Before we surface on the beach I want you to activate the night vision on your mask. You will see a pier reaching out into the water. Take off your pack and pull out the plastique and detonators. Set them on the front legs of the pier and swim away as fast as possible. Set them for thirty second detonations. As soon as it goes off we enter the beach and run for the tree line and disappear. Understand?"

Bella nodded and did as he said.

Swimming without fins was difficult but she found she could do so with greater ease than before. She couldn't keep up with Jason but he had been doing this long before she had.

Within ten minutes she surfaced and switched on the night vision on her mask. She saw it three hundred feet to her right. A wooden pier that reached about on hundred yards into the water, built for fishing.

"You ready?" Jason asked her.

"Yep."

"Good. See that cluster of palm trees straight ahead? I will meet you there. Plant the explosives on the front two pylons, set the timers and swim back here as fast as you can. If there are any problems abort and come back here. When the explosion happens you are to surface on the beach and sprint. Soldiers will be running towards the pier so you should slip by unnoticed. Run to me. Understand?"

"Yep." Bella answered without hesitation. Jason swan to the shore and waited. Two minutes later he was nervous. What if she had been trapped by a pier? What if a current had taken her away. She had no fins. She had to be tired. Her sword wasn't with her.

He shouldn't have sent her in alone. She need to do this but he should have followed. This was too m…

His thought was cut off by two explosions going off nearly simultaneously.

90 seconds later he saw Bella's rising out of the surf running quietly and low across the beach head. Reaching the trees he whistles lowly to her. She made her way over to him.

"Did both go off?" she asked him, out of breath.

"Yeah, you did great. But if they search the beach they are going to see our footprints. We need to move."

"Okay. You lead and I will follow. What is the objective?" she asked.

"Control room in the middle of the isle atop that hill. We have to use non deadly force. Those are our guys out there. Army Ranger recruits. Our objective is to make them look stupid, not kill them."

"Got it."

Jason wove his way through the jungle pausing a few times while patrols passed. Bella stopped when he did and did not move.

Halfway up the hill they came to their first resistance. Three soldiers standing in the way of their path.

"Going around is too risky. Too much rough terrain. They will know we are close and have the high ground. We have to do what they least expect. Head straight for them. Fast and deadly. Just don't kill them. Remember what I taught you? How to choke a person out?"

"Yes." Bella told him, getting very nervous.

"Good. I hit the first one. When the other two jump me take one out." Jason rushed out of the darkness and with one punch a guard dropped. Another jumped on his back only to be met by an elbow. The third never had a chance. Bella was on him, arm around his neck clamping his jaw shut while her other arm covered his nose. He tried to grab her but she had her legs wrapped around his waist.

He fell to his knees and passed out. Connolly knocked the air out of one and pinched a nerve in the shoulder of the first soldier he hit causing him to drop.

Without another word they moved. Another roving patrol passed them on the mountain side while they blended into the terrain, never being seen.

Connolly saw the Ranger recruits had made a typical rookie mistake. Leaving the control room lightly guarded while the others searched the island for the intruders.

Only four soldiers stood between Jason, Bella and their target, two on top of the building and two in front. There may be more around back but they didn't matter. The objective was to get inside the building.

Taking out his side arm strapped to his wet suit, Bella stopped him.

"You said we weren't going to kill them."

"Tranquilizers. We can shoot now. Once we are in, we lock the door and have control of the island. Simple. I take the ones on the ground and you take the ones on top of the building while we move. Aim for the chest area."

"What if I hit their heads?" Bella asked.

"Then some parents are going to be getting letters on behalf of a grateful nation. You ready?"

Bella took a deep breath.

"Yeah. On your count?"

"Three, two, one, now." Jason told her standing up. She stood up at the same time and four shots went off nearly simultaneously. They were quiet, no louder than silenced weapons. All four soldiers looked at the darts in their chests and passed out quickly. Luckily of the two Bella shot neither fell off the building.

Connolly and Bella reached the building. He was prepared to blow the lock and dart the two guards around back but found the door to be open.

"Come in Lt. Commander Connolly or whatever your rank is now. Have a seat and don't shoot me. The game is up. You won. You always do from what I hear."

Jason relaxed. Bella, seeing him relax, did somewhat as well. The lights to the room turned on and she saw a man in a uniform covered in metals. He had snow white hair but appeared to be in very good shape.

"You have me at a loss sir. I am afraid I don't know you." Jason told him.

"General Townsley at your service. Or I suppose we are both at the President's service. He wants to know one thing and I was sent here to find out. He was very vague and suggested I simply give him the answers to the questions I ask and do not ask any of my own."

"Of course sir."

"Is she ready?"

Connolly turned and looked at Bella.

"We have four more weeks of training left."

"He said you would say that. He told me to ask you again. Is she ready?"

"Yes." Connolly told the general, making Bella's heart soar with pride.

"He said to tell you that your team is to assemble at Gitmo. We have a lead on Diego Ortiz. The President has actionable intelligence that he is in an estate heavily guarded in the heart of Columbia. There are many houses of workers surrounding the compound. Forced workers, making an airstrike unlikely. Tree cover also makes it difficult for an accurate bombing run. The President told me to tell you there will be no special resistance but it would give your team a chance to gel and try out the new weapons in a real world setting. Are you up for it?"

Jason smiled and then looked at Bella. She had no expression on her face as she pondered actually killing people.

Deciding she could do what had to be done, Bella nodded.

"Hell yes we are up to it." Connolly answered.

"Good. A chopper will be here in an hour. Use the facilities to get cleaned up. I was told your equipment would be waiting for you including some sort of sword along with a partner?"

Bella smiled. She had wondered if Winter would be included.

"I believe the Presidents words were, have fun."

"Thank you sir." Bella smiled feeling the missing piece of her was returning.

"I guess we got an hour to get ready. See you at the LZ out that backdoor." Jason told her with a smile while feeling great anxiety. Despite what he had taught her in a short time he had not prepared her for the emotional toil it would take once you kill someone. It never bothered him. He hoped she was the same. Only one way to find out.

_Seattle Washington_

Mr. J. Jenks sat in his luxurious office overlooking the beautiful city. He was a bit apprehensive. Today he would be meeting a new client. A client vetted by his men who assured him this man and his money were very real.

At ten AM on the dot his intercom rang. His assistant announced the arrival of the visitor. Two visitors actually. A small girl was with Mr. Gavin. He had not expected her but how much trouble could she be. To get this far the two must have gone through at least three pat downs.

Tyrone Gavin walked in and had a seat followed by a young girl with short dark hair and a long coat. She shrugged off her coat and he was surprised to see what looked like a katana sword inside it. She drew the sword and to his dismay he was right. It was a Katana blade.

Pushing the security button under his desk he tried to plant a smile on his face.

"Mr. Gavin. I was not aware you were bringing an associate."

"Shut the fuck up. I just gave your secretary the day off and the rest of your ass clowns you call security are dead. You will be too if you don't do as I say."

J. Jenks shaking hand reached for his coffee cup. As he grasped the handle a silenced bullet came through the window behind him and shattered his cup.

"What the fuck?!" he screamed.

"I could ask the same thing. I really don't like your expensive desk being in between us. Winter?"

Winter stood and brought her blade down the center of Jenks' desk. It split in two. With two kicks the desk was in separate parts of the office while Jenks sat before the two of them.

"Her name is Winter. We call her that because she is cold as fucking ice. My name is Ty and honestly I'm just bad fucking news, especially for you."

"What do you want?"

"Every record you have. Especially the customers your family has worked for many generations, faking documents since documentation became popular. That's what you do right? You make paper for people that need it. Underworld types and the same people who need different documents long past the time they should have been dead."

"How? How did you find out? Is this some government sting? Who are you with?"

"Who we are with isn't important Mr. Jenks." Winter answered. "The important thing is you work for us now. You get to stay in business. You get to keep making documents. The only difference is instead of discretion, you are going to tell us everything you do. We will be watching. You give a warning to one of your special clients, say a Mr. Jasper Hale as he goes by now, then we eliminate you."

"I don't know a Jasper Hale."

"Yeah? Cause his brother Emmett Cullen called him and he said you would get some investigators down to Florida to watch a lady named Renee a bit closer. Now you can tell us what we need to know or I can kill you here and have my boys at the NSA crack whatever secrets you have in that laptop of yours in a matter of seconds."

Ty pulled a handgun from his coat and pointed it at Jenks.

"Or I could have my girl Winter here castrate you and let you bleed to death in your office. Which one do you want? Maybe my guy who blew your coffee cup outside can do the same to your head? Or maybe a stomach shot from behind? Leave you lyin there bleedin on your floor. The important thing you need to know is we work outside the law with the one purpose of bringing down your most dangerous and oldest customers. We can kill you at any time. We know where you are at all times. You can't get away. So the question is simple. Do you want to stay rich and alive and work for us or dead before the fucking vampires whose existence you ignore get to you?"

Jenks did not have to think long. He was a survivor. He had always been loyal to Mr. Whitlock because he knew or at least suspected what the man was and feared for his life if he betrayed him or any of his other well preserved clients. But these people were a direct threat to his life. Jenks was nothing if not a survivor.

"If they find out, I'm dead."

"If we don't find , you are dead. Best hope you got is to become a damn good liar and hope they don't find out. These investigators? You gonna call them off. All of them. Because we see any of them hanging around we gonna kill them too. In case you haven't got the picture yet, one thing we are all very good at is killin and ain't nobody gonna hold us accountable for it. You hear what I'm sayin?"

"Yeah. What do you want first?"

"Hard drives, paper records, journals, a list of every vampire you work for. Don't act like you don't know who they are either."

"If they find out, I'm telling them about you before they kill me." Jenks tried.

"Go ahead. Tell em a black man with an attitude and a little girl with a sword threatened your life. That's about all you got. Me and her? We don't fucking exist. But you sell us out fool…man you got more than yourself to worry about, don't you?"

"And I keep doing business? No arrests?" Jenks asked, ignoring the unspoken threat to his family.

"Not unless you fuck with us. Arrest gonna be the least of your problems then." Ty told him truthfully.

"You have a deal. It will take me some time to get the records you want…"

"You have one hour. Starting now." Winter told him. "We have someplace to be in a hurry."

Jenks looked at the blade still in her hand and the two pieces of his desk on either side of his office and nodded his head.

"Give me an hour."

_Fork's Washington_

Edward and Alice Cullen knocked on the door of the Swan house. Chief Charlie Swan's car was parked in front of his residence. Edward knew the man didn't like him but all he needed was a peak inside his head.

Instead of Charlie Swan opening the door the large figure of Sam Uley walked out.

"Can I help you?"

"Hello Sam. I was hoping to speak to Charlie." Edward smoothly replied, hiding the surprise on his face. Perhaps the time he and Alice took at the local hotel in Forks would have been better spent here. The wolves had obviously gotten wind of their arrival and had enough time to arrive at Chief Swans.

"He's not here." Jacob Black answered walking out beside Uley.

"Where is he?" Alice asked sweetly.

"Somewhere else." Uley answered.

"I see. Do you know when he will…" Edward started before Uley interrupted him.

"You should probably do a better job of noticing your surroundings leech. Every wolf in the pack is circling this house right now, either in human form or phased. You know the two of you cannot take us. I doubt your whole coven can. Charlie hasn't heard from Bella. None of us have. The fact that you are here still looking for us tells me that you haven't either. That's good enough for us."

"So Charlie doesn't miss his daughter?"

"You should probably go in the next ten seconds or things are going to get ugly." Jacob told him.

Edward probed Sam's mind but he did a good job of covering his tracks. Only a vision of a bus stop where he dropped Bella off, was in his head. He saw Uley give her a gun and a hug and turn to leave.

"Not until I speak to Chief Swan." Edward said forcefully. He turned when he heard his car window shatter.

"Oops." Paul said grinning, fist still where the window used to be.

Jared and Embry walked up next to him.

"We really want a fight in the middle of the day Sam?" Alice asked.

"Your right Alice. It is the day. It may be cloudy but you guys aren't that tough at night. I realize you can't see how the battle will end once we drag you two to the backyard but I promise it won't be pretty." Jake told her, causing Alice to back away.

"Perhaps we should leave Edward."

Edward glared at Jake.

"You think you have won?" he asked him.

"It's been two years. She has probably outgrown you by now. Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?" Jake asked in return.

"Edward we should leave." Alice whispered, taking in Leah and Seth Clearwater walking around one side of the house while Quil walked around the other.

"Let Charlie know I will be back." Edward said.

"Charlie knows nothing. You come back and we rip you to shreds, treaty be damned. Understand?" Sam asked.

"Perhaps we will bring more than just the two of us next time." Edward smiled.

"Get all the help you need. The taste of your kind never gets old and I haven't eaten leech since we destroyed the supposedly unstoppable newborn army and Seth had to save your ass. Bye Edward. Let Carlisle know, Forks is off limits."

"We will see." Edward told him and retreated to the car, Alice by his side. Paul bumped him as he tried to get inside, all but knocking Edward into the car.

As the car drove out of sight, Charlie Swan stepped out.

"Thanks guys. What I wouldn't give to have something that could kill those bastards."

"You do Charlie. You have us." Jake told him.

Still despite the threat, Jake had a feeling they had not seen the last of the Cullens. So long as they didn't have Bella it didn't matter.


	7. Chapter 7

The responses to this story are amazing. There are a few twists in this story though. Jason and Bella's path to romance is like training. Nothing comes easy. Now we see a few new team members. I also saw John Anderson as the guy who played Captain America. Can't remember his name. And Clive Barkley in my mind looks like Jason Stamos. I think his name is Jason…no Statham. I always call him the Transporter so… yeah pretty sure Statham. As far as Mina, in my mind she resembles Gal Gadot from Fast Five. This is more a get to know you chapter and to show that not all teams instantly gell nor relationships. Trust takes time to build. Plus we find out a bit more about Winter and Bella's friendship.

Chapter 7

_Colombian Rain Forest- DEA safe camp_

The team was all here. All except two who were on their way from Florida. Another member had not reported to the meeting room yet. One person that had Jason Connolly on edge. He looked over his assembled team.

"I want to first thank you for all being here. When the President told me I could form a team he assured me I could have anyone who was willing so long as they were from the US or an ally. I want to go around and introduce everyone since I realize that we haven't all been together yet. I have been busy training Bella for the past few weeks and everyone else has been busy with separate assignments. I have worked at some point with each of you and believe you to be the best in the field. That is why I requested you. You have all read the briefing packets and know what we are up against. Basically anything. The monsters of legend are not legends but very real, very dangerous and they have been operating in our world for thousands of years. For the first time in history we have the weapons and personnel to fight back.

Let me start with Winter Drake and Bella Swan. Winter had been through CIA training and Bella is still a work in progress. The reason they are so important to this team is they carry katanas which no others, man or woman can carry. From all indications these blades can slice through anything. They have been proven to cut vampires to pieces. Winter has killed fourteen vampires by her…her sister and her have killed fourteen vampires. Summer was killed not long ago by fucking vampires and Bella Swan is now the only person capable of carrying Summer's sword. We don't know why this is. We don't know a lot of things but we are learning quickly.

Bella has a history with vampires. She has provided us with a wealth of information on them as well as shape shifters who assisted her escape from the vampires and we will not go after. I gave her my word." Jason said with a meaningful look towards Bella.

"In addition when these swords are near them the girls are as strong and fast as vampires, even at night. Bella's training will continue but she knows enough to help us now. In this operation we will not be facing a supernatural foe but we will be using weapons designed to kill them. The weapons are mostly the same as we have dealt with before with slight modifications to handle the heavier ammo.

You have all known me so you all know Ty Gavin and Jack Webb. In addition to them we have Clive Barkley, a member of the United Kingdom's SAS. Clive glad to have you."

Clive did not smile or even acknowledge Connolly. He did look around at the others. After a few moments he spoke.

"We were on one mission together. One mission where your team jumped mine to take out the target. Why the hell am I here now?" Clive asked.

"Because I was told to assemble the best and from what I saw you are one of the best. If you don't think this is true you can go back to London." Jason told him.

Clive said nothing for a few moments and then smiled. "I think I will stay around. See how this turns out. Waiting for MI6 to find terrorist cells was getting a tad bit boring. Vampires definitely sound interesting."

Connolly continued to look around the room.

"John Anderson. Navy Seal for 8 years. Expert on all types of aircraft. We will not have air support so he will be important in addition to his skills in weaponry and tactics."

"Captain fucking America. Whitest boy I ever met." Ty commented.

"Good to see you too Ty. Glad to see you are still as subtle as ever." Anderson replied.

"I realize John and Clive that you may not know Dan Hawk but…"

"I fucking know who he is. Damn crazy is what he is. What the fuck is he doing here?" Clive asked.

"I'm one of the best. Didn't you hear the man?" Hawk smiled.

"I know the officer you put in the hospital. I consider him a friend." Anderson added.

"You need better friends." Hawk told him.

"As I was saying tonight our objective is simple. A drug lord. Diego Ortiz. A huge one the DEA has been chasing for years. We are not going in to arrest him. We bring back his head for identification. That is it. Understand? He lives in a very high tech high security compound guarded by guys who have seen combat. This will not be an easy task. The electrical system however will be compromised. There is a party tonight and myself, Winter and Bella will be invited. While we are socializing around and getting the layout of the place, the electrical system will be taken out by the one other member of our team."

"Who is that?" Webb asked.

"That would be me."

In walked in a 5'9 beauty who could have pass for a runway model. Her dark raven hair fell just passed her olive skinned shoulders. Her eyes could only be described as smoldering. Dark blue irises completed her perfectly featured face. Her frame was slight yet sensual. She appeared to be between 28 and 30. She was definitely a woman. The type of woman who seemed able to seduce anyone she wished for.

"This is Mina Abrams on loan to us from Israel where she served in the Sayeret Matkal for four years and then the Military Intelligence Directrorate. Things got a little hot in the Middle East since everyone knows who she is, so she was loaned out to us. She will be a …"

"Fuck no! Hell no!" Ty yelled.

"Ty calm down." Jason said quietly. He regretted not warning Ty sooner. The three of them had a …history.

"Fuck no. That bitch shot me! Right here!" Ty yelled pulling up his shirt and pointing out a bullet hole scar in his shoulder. "She tried to knife your ass, Connolly. You should have snapped her damn neck when you had the chance!"

"It was a misunderstanding." Jason told Ty.

"She stuck a knife in your thigh." Ty told him.

"I could have killed the both of you." Mina told them.

"Bitch you got lucky. Mistake my ass. Do I look like an Arab?" Ty asked.

"It was a mistake. Bad intelligence. It happens Ty. We are all professionals here." Connolly explained.

"You should have killed that bitch instead of tossing her out the window into that pool." Ty said.

"Kill me? You both were lucky. Jason is the only man or woman I've ever fucked who lived afterward."

"You fucked her?!" Bella blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Did you say man_ or_ woman?" Winter blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Can we all focus on the mission at hand?!" Connolly yelled.

Once everyone had settled down, Bella and Ty looking at Mina with distrust and with Connolly not able to catch Bella's eye, he continued speaking.

"Mikey Boller and Dante Youngblood. They are on their way here from Florida. Because of Ty and Winter's work we know the large Cullen vampire was called back to Oregon and supposedly private eyes are watching Renee Dwyer. We know this isn't true because we now control the man who handles affairs for multiple vampires including the Cullens. That completes the team. That's it. Us against the supernatural world. Tonight is a run through to see how we do together as a team. Seeing as how we can't get through introductions without an argument…" Connolly glared at Ty …" It is obvious this is needed. This is not a walk thru. Like I said before these guys are tough and this son of a bitch needs to go down. He is responsible for hits on eleven DEA agents and one US federal judge. We don't have to make it silent but there are militia in the surrounding area. There are also forced labor from surrounding towns. We don't want to kill them if we can avoid it. The Colombian military has no idea we are coming in. That's why we are going in. No one else can be trusted not to have a leak. Mikey and Dante are also pilots and will be arriving in special aircraft developed at the desert base no one speaks of, soon. The aircraft will help us get in and out fast. Once the communications and electricity have been cut we move and I want this done in five minutes. Five minutes to take down the guards, get Ortiz's head in a bag and get out. There will be civilians at this party, just like there are going to be civilians around vampires. Try not to kill any of them but if you even think you see a gun take the person down. Let's go over teams.

Bella, Winter and myself are going inside. Winter will be able to get an impression of the entire complex and let us all know. My cover is a possible customer with connections with the San Antonio Mob. Winter and Bella will be my dates."

Connolly ignored the hhmph from Bella.

Date my ass, Bella thought to herself. Only guy she fucked that lived? He could have killed her. He killed everybody! Why not her? Bella had a fairly good idea why.

"Why doesn't Mina go as your date and Winter and I could handle cutting off the fucker's head?" Bella suggested. "Since you two have a history I'm sure it will be more believable."

"I already have an invitation." Mina said smoothly.

"Did you fuck Ortiz to get it?" Bella asked sharply.

"What sort of training did the two of you do together Jason? Sounds like I may need to teach her a few things. Like how to control her emotions. Jealousy is unbecoming." Mina smiled, pissing Bella off even more.

"Stop!" Jason yelled. "This is a fucking mission and I am the leader of this team! If anyone has a problem taking orders you can go back to where you came from!"

That brought silence to the room.

Connolly went over the plan and everyone agreed silently. Connolly looked for Bella afterward but she had walked off with Winter. He sighed. Maybe bringing Mina in wasn't a great idea. Still she was one of the best in the world and Israel was an ally. He needed the best.

Bella for her part walked outside to the tent she shared with Winter.

"What happened in the desert?" Winter asked.

"How was my Mom?" Bella asked.

"Not good but I think she is better now, knowing you are alive. Out of danger. What happened between the two of you in the desert?" Winter asked again.

"He trained me. Why?"

"I know he trained you. You look to be in much better shape and you haven't even asked for a cigarette. I want to know what happened."

"Nothing happened." Bella lied.

"You need to keep your mind focused on what is important. That team is supposed to support us, not the other way around. He may be in command but you need to realize that is what he is. A commander. A killer. That's it. Don't become a game again to another man."

"Excuse me?!" Bella asked.

"You heard me. We are supposed to be a team." Winter pointed out.

"We are. At least we would be if I wasn't sent all over the place going through hell so I can be there for you. Hell I'm a damn alternate. Summer was chosen, not me. I was third place. I'm doing the best I can for you so don't give me any shit."

"I thought you were doing this for you?"

"What the hell do the reasons matter? Stay the hell out of my business."

"Fuck you Bella."

"Fuck you Winter. Go find the supermodel and see if she can lift this fucking blade."

"Whatever Bella. I hope you have your shit together tonight." Winter whispered with a sigh.

"Yeah I hope I do too. But thanks for your main concern being about whether I fucked Connolly in the desert! I told you when we were fourteen you are my friend and that is it!"

"I only told you I was gay because I was afraid to tell Summer!"

"You tried to kiss me." Bella pointed out.

"I was fourteen. Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Why are you bringing up whatever happened or didn't happen in Death fucking valley. I got in shape. I learned to fire a gun and use a knife. I learned to fight. I got a lot more to learn but I'll be damned if I learn it from some special agent spy whore and you sure as hell don't know what to do. You were more interested in her than he was! Besides that, I agreed to fight vampires. Now I am killing drug lords? I realize you don't give a shit if you are some CIA government tool but maybe I do!"

"Back off Bella. I just asked a question."

Bella reached out to her blade and it flew from its resting spot into her hand. Winter raised an eyebrow and did the same, catching her blade deftly.

"Just letting you know you aren't the only Jedi around here." Winter told her.

"You want to train? Because I do. I feel like beating the hell out of you." Bella told her.

"By all means lead the way. When I knock your ass to the ground I will make sure not to stand over you. God forbid you think I'm coming on to you. I suppose you only allow commanding officers to do that."

"Unlike you, I'm not in the military bitch!" Bella swung her blade at Winter who blocked her with a parry and thrust back, meaning to miss Bella within inches of her ribs. To her surprise Bella simply twisted and hit Winter in the back of the head with the dull side of her blade.

Winter rubbed her head and looked at Bella who was smirking.

Then she punched her.

Both swords dropped and Bella struck back, kneeing Winter in the gut, who doubled over and used her arm to sweep Bella's legs. Swords were dropped. Legs were wrapped on the ground and the two rolled out, striking each other with their fists.

At least until they realized they were both on the ground, wrapped around each other, at Hawk's feet.

"I'll be in my bunk." Hawk said with smile and walked off.

"Bella, Jason would like to talk to you alone." Webb told her, walking up as she and Winter untangled themselves from each other and stood up.

"Tell him to fuck off Master Chief. Or are you just chief now? Jack? Asshole? Jason's whipping boy?"

"Hey listen Swan …"

"Bella! Can I please talk to you?" Jason asked, stepping out of the tent.

"No. I have training to do and I prefer to be alone. When your Israeli whore decides what dress I should wear tonight to be one of your fucking hookers let Ty know and he can tell me. Until then leave me alone before I think of a good place to shove my sword."

Bella walked off in a huff while Winter sat up from the ground and walked back into her tent, planning to check her firearms.

Webb walked up to Connolly.

"Nope. You were right. I don't see any problems at all. Thanks for the heads up about the third woman. I like Winter even more. At least I know she doesn't want to fuck you. The Israeli probably will fuck her, but they will most likely kill each other. I swear to God do you think about anything besides the here and now? Seriously Jason?"

"Hey back off Webb. Me and Connolly been through some shit. He knows what he is doing." Ty said, stepping up to defend his partner.

"We all been through some shit. That supposed to means something to me Gavin? You ever gone into battle with three women?" Webb countered.

"You ever fought vampires?" Gavin asked in return.

"No and neither have you or your boy, our commanding officer."

"Webb shut the fuck up. I'm not in the mood. You want to fight me, then fight me. At least Bella and Winter can work out their differences. I'm tired of the second guessing my decisions. I wanted the best team."

"This isn't the best team. It's the best operators you could find. There are too many alpha dogs and alpha bitches in heat here." Webb pointed out.

"Maybe we should take it back a notch. Our success depends on us getting along."

"Shut up Anderson, I want to hear this." Barker told him in his cheery British accent.

"What about it Webb? You feelin alpha dog right now? Let's do this." Connolly told him, already irritated and ready to let out some aggression.

"You boys and your dicks." Mina said, walking out of the tent. She began to laugh.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Jason asked.

"To talk to your girlfriend and teach her how to be a woman. I think Winter and I can handle her training from this point on. She needs to be her. Not what you want to make her. I understand she had enough of that from the vampire. Now get your heads straight. This has got to be the worst team I have ever seen. Mission time is in three hours. Give each other hand jobs if you must but make it quick and clean up after yourselves."

Mina walked through a path in the jungle and saw Bella alone by a small stream. She was practicing martial arts moves, a combination of traditional kung fu and jeet kune do. Her form wasn't bad. Mina could work with her.

"Try straightening your back."

Bella turned, shocked at being snuck up on.

"What the hell do you want?"

"To introduce myself. I'm Mina."

"Yeah I heard. The black widow. What the hell do you want?"

"What do you want?" Mina asked.

"Excuse me?"

"What do you want? Obviously Connolly judging by the jealousy you just showed. That was a mistake by the way. Never show your true emotions unless you are alone with the one you truly love."

"Says the woman who uses sex to kill people." Bella said snidely.

"I use my body and anything else I need to use to get the job done. Once you decide what you want to be I will help you get there. I will be your mentor."

"I'm not fucking anybody to kill them. I'm not even sure I want to kill anybody. Monsters? No problem. This? Tonight? I didn't sign up for this."

"Then that is the first thing you need to determine. What you will and will not do to accomplish a mission. I could give you a very long speech about how bad this man is. The point is he hurts people. Is it worth it to you to take him out? We can do this without you."

Bella was silent.

"Yeah." She admitted finally.

"What do you want to be?"

"Strong." Bella answered.

"I understand you are strong. Supernaturally strong, correct?"

"No. I want to be strong. Not physically, not mentally. I want … I want to be in absolute control of my life."

"I can get you there. Jason can teach you to fight, to kill, like he does. He can make you the female version of himself. I can make you, you. It is your choice. You stick to your friend Winter. You won't leave her. So the option of walking away is gone."

"What can you teach me that he can't?" Bella asked.

"Aren't you curious if he is good? In bed? Don't you want to know how big his cock is? I can tell you." Mina said, smiling.

Bella struck.

And found herself held by her very strong fingers, bent towards the ground in a position of great pain.

"You are fast. This is what I can teach you Bella. How can you be in control of every aspect of your life if you cannot control jealousy over something that happened once, long ago between two people whose primary objective was to kill each other? Jason didn't kill me because he suspected that I had been betrayed by a double agent. He could have but he is not a mindless killing machine. Now you let a simple question anger you so much that you forgot every bit of martial arts you have learned and threw a pathetic, albeit fast punch, allowing me to grab your tiny fingers and place you in a very bad position where your strength is meaningless. If I had a knife I could slice your throat, or bite it out if I was a vampire. Do you understand? Do you have any true idea of how important control is?"

"You want me to be like you? Cold and calculating?" Bella gasped, still bent over, controlled by her fingers.

"No. I want you to be the woman who had the balls to walk away from a vampire and live the rest of her life in poverty and fear simply to stay alive. I want to take that girl and turn her into the woman she is meant to be. Will you let me? I am offering to be your teacher, your guide, your mentor. Not your best friend. I will say things to you that you will not like. But I promise you will like who I make you. Not a clone of anyone. Just someone who can be the best of what is already there."

Bella nodded.

"Yeah. I want that."

"Good." Mina let go of Bella's hand and she stood up, rubbing her wrist.

"Don't do that. Don't show weakness to your enemy, even as simply rubbing your wrist. First lesson. You are going back to the camp and look at what you will be wearing like your friend is. You are going to determine what weapons you can hide under the dress you are given and the best way to have access to them.

When the man you are falling in love with asks if you okay you tell him and show him you are fine. Better than fine. I know you love him. He loves you. Start playing a little hard to get girl or he will run over you. His personality is too much not to. You have to be his equal or you will never truly have him. Understand?"

"Yes. I understand."

Bella walked back to the camp. Once she was away from what she thought was Mina's line of sight she rubbed her wrist, irritated at herself. Instead of going to the main tent where the wardrobe is she walked into the tent she shared with Winter. Winter stood and the two hugged each other closely.

"You aren't third Bella. It was always the three of us. You know that."

"I know. I love you. You know that right?"

"I do. I should have been there. If Summer and I had known …Bella we would have…"

"I know. It's okay. I got myself into that mess. It was on me. I got out. Sort of. Let's go over these weapons and take a look at what we can fit under our dresses. I need to go over everything again."

Winter began taking her weapons apart when Jason opened the door to the tent.

"Bella can I talk to you?" Jason asked.

"About the mission?" Bella asked innocently.

"Uh…yeah."

"Then talk. It's not like there are any mission related items you can't talk about that she can't hear."

Connolly was speechless and then shook his head.

"The dresses are over here. Ya'll need to start getting dressed." He said angrily and close the tent door. He could swear he heard Bella giggling with Winter as he walked off.

He saw Mina before he waked into his own quarters to prepare.

"What did you say to her? What did you tell her we did? That was nothing and you know it!"

"I am going to turn her into something she was always meant to be." Mina replied.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Herself. Go get ready. I've always thought you look good in tux. Keep an eye on my protégé tonight."

"Your protégé?" Jason asked, surprised.

"Yes." Mina smiled and winked.

"God help us all." Jason said, walking off to get ready for battle. The time for matters of the heart were over. Webb was right. He had to separate his feelings for her from the mission. Dante and Mikey were landing with the new carriers. He needed to check them out. It was time to get to work.

_Ortiz Mission, Compound of Diego Ortiz_

Connolly walked in with Bella on one arm and Winter on the other. Both looked gorgeous. Bella had a black form fitting dress that completely covered her chest and yet still left little to the imagination. The neck line was high and the sleeves tight to her elbows. By looking at her you would never know she had a 9 mm. pistol strapped inside her thigh high enough up that Connolly wished he had been the one who placed it there. Winter was wearing a lower cut red dress that from the waist up covered her modest breasts but not much more. He skirt fell to mid thigh and she looked harmless as well. She had a similar blade strapped to the inside of one of her thighs and a 6 inch blade strapped to the other. Connolly on the other hand was a walking arsenal. He had two handguns on him in his shoulder holsters. Smaller .38s strapped to each ankle. A K bar knife in each jacket arm. There was not a search to get into the compound. Mostly because no one would be stupid enough to start anything here. Another reason is the boss stayed in his office most times, even during parties. He was a solitary and cautious man, surrounded by a team of highly trained mercenaries. As such the security around his estate was weak. Like Osama Bin Laden was believed by the CIA, before his compound was found, Ortiz often moved.

"Winter, can you find Ortiz and give me a lay out of this place?" Connolly asked.

"I'll need to be alone. Bella come with me to the bathroom."

Bella followed Winter while Connolly strolled around and smiled at familiar faces. At least those familiar to him. No one here knew him.

"Teams in position?" He asked.

"Team A is ready." Ty responded. He had Dante and Hawk with him and Anderson flying the jet one thousand feet in the sky. They had parachuted softly on the roof ten minutes ago taking out the two guards on top without ever being seen or heard.

"Team B is ready."

Webb and Barkley were at the back gate. Both had snuck silently up to either side and planted explosives on the corners feet from the guards who had their backs to the gate and faces towards the party. Mikey Boller hovered a few hundred yards away just over the treeline in his jet,

The jets were like none ever seen before. Nearly triangular in shape, they could cut through the air like a jet breaking the sound barrier with ease, they could also hover like a harrier or helicopter when needed in near silence. They could carry up to eight people along with ordinances were loaded for war. Both jets loaded with missiles and bullets. Either could have blown the compound to pieces in a matter of seconds and been back in the States in a matter of minutes. Thanks to the oxygen and artificial gravity on the crafts they could literally break earth's atmosphere and use the natural rotation of the earth and orbit to be anywhere in the world within an hour, using the right trajectory. A state of the art weapon, only two had been developed at Area 51 so far. Only two were needed at this time.

Bella and Winter went into the bathroom where Winter went into a stall. She knew Mina was somewhere in the building waiting to talk or kill her way to the electrical control room.

Winter sat and closed her eyes while Bella stood outside the stall and made sure no other women disturbed her.

"Help me out here Summer." Winter whispered.

Her eyesight was clear and flying through the building. Through walls, ceilings, everywhere. Just like before she felt that she was looking through someone else's eyes. She felt connected to her body unlike astral projectors.

She began whispering what she saw.

"Second floor just guards. Six of them. Third floor there are ten. Ortiz is on a couch watching the party below. He is watching you Connolly. He most likely plans to invite you up. He also has danger room only a few feet from the couch. Steel is thick. We would be unable to breach it if he reaches it. Not in the time given." Summer's visions stopped and Winter snapped back to reality with a moan. Catching the attention of one of the bathroom patrons. Bella glared at her.

"Problem?"

"No." the woman said, intimidated by the glare Bella had given her. Once the bathroom was cleared Winter stumbled out while Bella caught her arm and the two strolled out, arms locked. They met up with Connolly.

"You see the control room?" He whispered.

"Second floor center room." Winter told him,

"Mina you copy?"

"I will have it. Be ready to move in two minutes at my mark." Mina told him.

"Teams copy?"

"We are ready Connolly. Just say go and we go." Ty responded.

Mina made her way up the staircase. She was stunning in a silver gown that draped to the floor and had a slit nearly up to her waist. She approached the first guard at the top of the stairs.

"No one is allowed up miss."

"I'm sure if you ask Mr. Ortiz he would allow me up. Let him know Samantha is here. He invited me personally."

"Mr. Ortiz comes down when he is ready. Until then you stay here." The guard told her, his hand reaching into his jacket to rest on his gun.

Mina leaned into the guard very closely and whispered in his ear.

"I mean nothing personal. You are in my way. It is the way things go." She whispered and kissed the guard on the ear.

The guard was confused until his ear started burning. Soon his ear drum began bleeding. He touched his finger to his ear and saw the blood.

Before he could say another word he dropped to the ground. Mina ran. Unstrapping a nine millimeter pistol from her thigh she fired three shots killing three guards since she reached the large open area in the second floor. The control stood open in the middle. Two others ran for cover. Mina tossed a grenade in her purse through the control room door before the guard could close it.

The explosion from inside the room, knocked all three occupants to the ground and tore the man inside to pieces. The lights fell alone. Mina was up first firing and taking down the remaining two.

"Control room down. Mission is a go."

Connolly pulled both weapons and began firing at men he had identified as guards. Winter grabbed Bella and two tables flew on either side of them. Bella didn't have to ask, knowing that Summer's spirit had provided the cover. She popped up and began firing along with Winter. Their job was to secure the first. Connolly was to head up the stairs to the third.

Gavin, Youngblood and Hawk detonated the explosives on the roof, directing the blast downward. Outside the gates explodedand Webb and Barkley opened fire, picking off guards as they ran towards the residence.

Inside Bella continued to fire although she was sure she had not hit anyone yet. The lights of the building had gone dark and she was using night vision goggles she had pulled from her purse. She had never used these before and the result was a bit disorienting.

She did see Jason firing, taking down men with guns as he ran towards the stairs.

Then she saw the woman.

A woman had pulled a gun on Connolly from behind. No one had noticed before.

Connolly didn't see her.

Without hesitation Bella stood and fired. As if in slow motion she saw the woman's head explode and her gun drop. Both Connolly and Winter looked at her briefly and the all three moved towards the stairs.

"Bella stay here and watch the door. Anybody comes in that isn't ours, shoot them." Winter told her. Bella nodded and lay on the floor gun pointed at the door. The adrenalin coursing through her veins not allowing her to dwell on the woman she had just killed.

She nearly fired when Webb and Clive ran in. Noticing the goggles on their head had stopped her. They ran past, motioned to Bella on the ground to follow and continued up the stairs. Three and a half minutes had passed.

After the explosion on the roof Hawk, Dante and Ty had jumped in and engaged. The explosion had taken most of the guards to the ground. Ortiz lay on the ground covered in a fetal postion next to the control room. Ty and Hawk began firing. One man stood up and Hawk grabbed the man's rifle and beat him with it, cracking his skull fatally with one swing. Ortiz began rolling to the control room and hit the button, closing the door.

Connolly entered with Winter, soon followed by Webb, Bella and Clive.

"Where the fuck is he?" Connolly asked.

"In there." Ty pointed out. "We need to blow it."

"We can't idiots. Winter told you the safe room was unbreachable." Mina said finally arriving on the third. "Apologies for being late. I needed to get my hearing back. What do we do now?"

"Winter can you do it?" Connolly asked.

"I'll try."

"Winter closed her eyes and saw Summer fly through the foot thick steel. Inside was a very scared Ortiz trying to get a hold of anyone left alive inside the compound and the Colombian military. She saw a button. The button simply said abierta.

Winter concentrated to the point her nose began to bleed. Bella caught her from behind. The button was pushed by an invisible force and the doors were opened. Ortiz stood there speechless

"Thirty seconds Connolly." Ty reminded him.

Bella focused. From the jet carrier above the tree line one hundred yards away, her sword flew off the seat it had been placedd on, scaring Boller. It flew the hundred yards over the trees through the window, causing the others to jump away, and into Bella's hand. She walked up to Ortiz who stood with wide eyes and sliced his head off using both her hands on the blade, covering her face with his blood.

Turning to the others, face and body covered in blood, she asked a simple question.

"Anyone else need killing because my friend has had a long night and I am ready to get her home."

"I think we are good lass." Clive responded smiling. Connolly tried to hide the passion the site of her placed him in. If he didn't get out of here soon it would be obvious to all. Winter looked at her with surprise and a bloody nose while Mina looked on with pride.

"It is definitely time to go home. Time is up." Jason commented.

The jets landed silently in the front yard amid dead bodies of guards. It didn't appear any civilians were killed. The team loaded into separate vehicles.

"Where to Commander?" Boller asked Connolly.

"Nevada for now. Our new home still has a week of work. It's time everybody sees what we are working with."

"You mean … the base?" Boller asked.

"I mean." Connolly confirmed.

"Area 51 coming right up sir."

On the flight back the transports did not bother reaching orbit. Instead they flew at a leisurely pace towards Nevada. The objective? The Groom Lake testing site. Winter's head was on Bella's lap while she slept deeply. Mina sat next to Bella.

"You shot a woman on the first floor?" Mina asked. Already knowing.

"Yes." Bella answered.

"Why?"

"Because she would have killed Jason. He didn't see her."

"You called your blade from a ship hovering in the air far away to cut off Ortiz's head, scaring every man on this team whether they will admit it or not. Why did you do it?"

"It had to be done. I knew Jason or one of the guys would use a knife and that would take too long. I knew what had to be done. Winter couldn't do it so I did. I was ready to get out of there." Bella told her in a monotone voice.

"Good." Mina replied with a smile.

"Good? I killed a woman and sliced a guy's head from his shoulders I didn't even know. I saw the fear in his eyes when he realized I would do it. How is this good?" Bella asked.

"You have learned two things tonight. You will kill to protect your loved ones and you will kill when it must be done. These are important things to learn about one's self. This was lesson number two. When we get to where we are going we will continue. You still have a lot to learn Bella Swan. I look forward to teaching you."

Bella caught Jason's eye from the open cockpit where he sat next to Boller. He winked at her and grinned even though she was covered in blood she could feel begin to dry and stick to her.

She held back a smile but didn't look away from his eyes.

She wanted him.

But Mina was right. She would never be a puppet again. She would have him on her own terms.


	8. Chapter 8

Don't own Twilight. The original characters and plot are mine.

A/N Rickie I knew if anyone would get the reference to Patience it would be you ;) Jayne was a gimme but a line I have wanted to use for so long and never had the opportunity. Glad ya'll are enjoying the story. Keep those reviews coming. I can tell you in the next few chapters Jason and Bella's relationship will be moving in a more positive and quick manner but I am also in no hurry. The action will be picking up and we may see a bit of Chris and an old friend from Growing up and Atonement together at the end of the chapter. Also just so you know I do plan to develop Winter a bit more. I realize we haven't seen much of her personality but she does have one. The focus has been on Bella though for fun.

Chapter 8

_Groom Lake Nevada_

Connolly finally had a chance to breathe. His team was nearly assembled, mostly anyway. The three females were off somewhere. Jason didn't mind. Unlike other places there was not a whole lot of space to wander at Area 51. Bella would be fine.

Despite the rumors and folklore about the base regarding UFOs, Area 51 was very secretive for one very important reason.

It was where the most bad ass equipment in the US military was designed and tested. The U2 spy plane and SR 71Blackbird were designed here. The B2 Spirit also known as the Stealth Bomber was designed and tested here.

Now he and his team were looking at the latest in technology. The Aurora program which had given rise to the latest UFO rumors. Jason could see why. They had used two modified versions of these aircraft in the Ortiz mission. Now he was seeing and appreciating the whole lot of the program. The program started in the 1990s and was designed as a reconnaissance plane, completely invisible to radar, much like the B2 Bomber. The difference between the two was the Aurora could do much, much more. Almost a triangle in shape, the fighter was fast enough to break the sound barrier, carried enough armament to take out a small country and could function as a bomber. Another important part of the project and the reason it took so long to develop was its maneuverability. It could stop nearly on a dime and transform into a harrier type jet capable of stopping and changing direction instantly, rising and dropping as needed and doing so in near silence. It also had the ability to break the atmosphere and use the rotation of the Earth and orbit to be anywhere in the world in less than two hours.

Nearly 90 percent of videos on the internet showing UFOs zig zagging across the sky were variants of the Aurora project. A large number of fighters had been produced and designed for two pilots alone. Only two had been modified to carry more than two pilots. The two that had been used could carry up to eight passengers in a small area in the middle and piloted by one or two men. Dante Youngblood, Mike Boller and John Anderson had been at Groom Lake learning the ins and outs of these amazing machines.

The director of Groom Lake, who had yet to give his name, was not happy about this. He was protective of his toys.

"I don't believe I have to tell you how important it is that these machines are treated delicately and how expensive they are. What exactly are your plans for these aircraft?" The man in a suit who had yet to introduce himself asked.

""I plan to take them into war. We will land in hot LZs, blow the shit out of things that need to be blown up and leave. I plan to ride these bitches hard and put em up wet." Connolly calmly told the man.

The man sighed.

"I see. They are yours and will be at your base next week. I understand you will be testing other weapons. Of course these two each have a UV spotlight that can light up the size of a football field. I can't imagine why you would need it but for the first time in my life, I was told by the President what was needed and to not ask questions. The bullets are all made of H4X1. The element is constantly in development. The missiles are also filled with shrapnel made of the element in addition to the napalm added. One missile will basically cut and burn anything within two hundred yards so please make sure you have no men … or women apparently, on the ground when one is fired. The crafts have 360 degree motion when hovering. There are also protective guns that operate independently of the craft that will defend it from incoming attacks."

"Sounds perfect. What else you got for me?" Connolly asked the man in the suit.

"You've seen the rifles and handguns. I can show you a type of gun we are working one capable of firing the ammo but it is very difficult to handle. The weapon itself weighs 85 pounds and has a kick like you wouldn't believe. We haven't found a soldier yet who could lift and control the weapon while firing with any accuracy, not that much is needed."

"Hawk you're up." Jason told him.

Dan Hawk walked up to the man and smiled.

"Show me the way."

"Parker take this … man … to the weapons hangar."

"Yes sir." A soldier with no designation on his shoulder snapped to attention and Hawk followed.

"We plan to use these weapons and planes to practice scenarios over the next week. Any problems we need to know about?" Jason asked.

"No sir. The President has given you full access to the area."

"What about the underground areas?" Jason asked, thinking of the rumored underground areas of the base.

"You don't want to see the underground areas. They aren't necessary or connected to the work you will be doing." Confirming in his mind that they do exist.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that since you know nothing about the work we will be doing?"

"The President does not know about the area."

"Yes he does." Connolly pointed out, lying. He had no idea if the President knew.

"Truman signed an executive order that the area is only to be opened under certain conditions. That executive order remains in effect as far as I understand. That area is dead and locked until those conditions are met. The President himself cannot order me to open it. Believe me, I will notice, the world will notice if these conditions are met." The man in the suit said smiling.

"Maybe. Of course my team could kill you and have control of this base within a matter of minutes."

The man in the suit was no longer smiling.

"But it isn't worth it. Keep your dirty secrets. Show my men where we can bunk down, get some chow and then we meet in the training hanger. I also want a look at the satellites we will be given access to."

"Can I ask why this new element is so important to your work?"

"No. The President signed an executive order not to tell you. You want to take it up with him you are more than welcome. Till then let me worry about why I need special ammo and equipment and don't ask questions. You guys are good at that, right?" Connolly told him sarcastically.

"Of course."

The man in the suit walked off and Connolly and his team followed.

"Ty?" Connolly said, stopping Ty.

"Yeah brother. What's up?"

"Please track down the women and ask them to join us. Tell Bella and Winter to keep their blades close and do not under any conditions let these men have close looks at them."

"Uh, I thought you knew." Ty said nervously.

"Knew what?"

"Mina took Bella and Winter for training."

"Okay. Go get them from training."

"Nah man you don't understand. Mina took them in her Mercedes. They headed off base."

"Headed where?"

"Las Vegas. Mina said they needed to learn some things she couldn't teach them here. Bella especially. She made it seem like you knew about it."

"I didn't know a damn thing about it! Who authorized them to leave the base?!"

"Well none of them actually are in the military so authorization is kinda tricky. I mean I know they are team when it comes to missions but the rest of the time … I mean I'm sure Mina didn't have problems talking her way out." Ty told him.

"Get your ass to Las Vegas. Take the black Hummer. Keep an eye on them. Those two are our biggest secret weapons and they are running loose."

"No they are running with their trainer." Ty pointed out. "Besides that's a three hour drive."

"Listen, I would go but I have schematics to go over. We have floor maps of the Volturi castle and other vampire feeding grounds. I have satellites to go over. I don't have time for this. I need you. Mina should have a tracker on her car. Follow it. Don't interfere with whatever the hell she has going on but keep an eye on them, and keep me updated. When you find them turn on your ear com and go to secure frequency 7."

"Why the hell am I doing this?" Ty asked.

"Because I'm your commanding officer?" Connolly tried.

"Try again."

"They are valuable assets and I don't trust Mina?"

"Then you shouldn't have brought the gun happy bitch onto the team. Try again."

"Because I want to make sure Bella is okay." Connolly admitted.

"Hey that's cool man. At least you're bein honest this time. I mean I'm sure Bella will appreciate you watchin out for her."

"Yeah, she will." Connolly agreed with a smile.

"Worked out well for Edward Cullen." Ty said quietly. Not quietly enough.

"What are you saying?" Jason asked him, immediately angry.

"I'm sayin for the first time in your life you feel something for a woman and you actin stupid. Girl wants to go to Vegas let her go to Vegas. If she wanted you along she would have asked you. Last thing she would appreciate is your jealous ass watchin her. But you right, dog. You my commanding officer. You want me to spy on your girlfriend I'll do it. Want me to watch her sleep at night too or you got that covered?"

Ty began to walk away while Connolly dropped his head.

"Ty?"

"Yeah?"

"C'mon. We got schematics to go over. I guess we can catch the girls up whenever the hell they get back."

Ty patted Connolly on the shoulder.

"See? You can make good decisions. Plus I won $50. When Webb heard they left he bet me $50 you would send someone after her. Good man."

Connolly watched him walk away and contemplated calling Mina.

Fuck it. Bella could take care of herself. She had Winter and Mina with her.

He hoped.

I mean what were the chances of them running into vampires in Vegas?

The bigger question on his mind was what the hell kind of training Mina thought she would accomplish in Vegas.

_Las Vegas Nevada_

"These belong to the two of you." Mina told Bella and Winter as she pulled out two long black coats in her trunk after parking in the Meadows Mall parking lot.

Bella looked at hers and put it on. It was a perfect fit hanging to just above her shoe line.

"Thanks." she said without much enthusiasm.

"Problem Bella?" Mina asked.

"No. I appreciate it. I just don't like other people buying me clothes." She admitted. Winter understood. Mina did as well.

"Because of Alice Cullen? I get that. These will be the only clothes I buy the two of you. If you look inside the coats you will see a set of straps. six Velcro straps, very strong. You can place your katana inside and it will be completely hidden. Also you will be able to pull the jacket back and have the sword ready for battle in seconds rather than trying to pull it from a scabbard. These coats won't fit into every situation but they will work in most battle scenarios."

Bella looked at the coat and Mina with new respect.

"Thanks." she said gratefully.

"Yeah, this is pretty cool Mina." Winter admitted.

"Glad you like it. I have a gun on me if we need one. Leave your katanas in the trunk. We won't need them here."

"Why are we here?" Bella asked, looking at the mall with suspicion.

"Because you both need clothes. I don't give a damn if you buy blue jeans or custom leather or designer dresses. Decide what you want to look like and buy it. Bella do you like your hair?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"Then it won't be a problem. You can concentrate on getting clothes. You won't want to wear BDUs all the time. Trust me. I spent enough time in the military, that camo and black get old in a hurry."

Mina began to walk off.

"Wait? What is wrong with my hair?" Bella asked.

"Nothing. I just asked a question. You said you wanted to be a woman. To be in control of your life. How you want to appear to the world is important. If you want the same style you had in high school that is your business. Same with you Winter. If you want to give a different appearance to the world then you can do that as well. I want you to start thinking about these things. I am going into that mall with you. I don't give a damn what you buy. But you need things. After this we are going to Wal-Mart and buying hair brushes, toothbrushes and other certain things that will be needed."

"Oh, okay." Winter said. That made a certain amount of sense.

"Keep in mind tonight we are training. We are going to a casino and the both of you are going to learn the art of seduction."

"Say what?"Bella asked.

"The art of seduction." Mina repeated.

"I told you I'm not fucking anyone." Bella stressed.

"I didn't say the art of fucking. You will have to figure that out for yourself. You are both virgins and I don't have the time to have the sex talk with you."

"What makes you think I'm a virgin?!" Winter asked.

"You are gay right?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know?" Mina asked.

"Because I am attracted to women."

"Have you ever made a move on anyone besides Bella?" Mina asked.

Winter dropped her head. It was the answer Mina suspected.

"Exactly. Neither of you know a damn thing about sex. Believe it or not seduction while it can lead to sex has nothing to do with sex. It is about making a man or woman be so enamored with you that you can make them do whatever you want. Bella you were seduced by a vampire who wanted your blood and you allowed it. It's time to learn how to do that to others, in a less dramatic fashion of course. It is important and has nothing to do with sex. It has to do with allure. Making someone want you so much that you are in control, instead of being controlled. Understand? You are both beautiful. Use that."

"I don't have any money." Bella pointed out.

"You have a black credit card in your purse. You have been on the government payroll for two months. You haven't used it. Winter you haven't used yours at all. The government has paid all your expenses. I'm not saying either of you are rich but you both have a couple thousand. Winter you probably have closer to ten thousand. You need clothes. Buy clothes."

Without another word they followed Mina into the mall. Walking around neither could decide what store to go into. Mina offered no suggestions, just following and not saying a word.

Bella looked into a store and saw her reflection in the window. Her head dropped.

"What's wrong Bella?" Winter asked.

"Look at me. I've gotten more muscle. I've gotten thinner, even though I didn't need to. But my hair is still the same as it was in Forks. My eyes look … old. I don't … I don't want to look like this anymore."

"So don't." Winter told her. "There is a salon right there. I could use a haircut."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin. How … I mean Jason…"

"Fuck Jason!" Mina practically yelled from behind, causing Bella to jump.

"You want him right?" Mina asked.

Bella nodded.

"Then let him want you. Not who you used to be. You decide what you want to look like. You decide who you are. If he doesn't like it fuck him, find someone who will. Do not make decisions on what you look like based on anyone but yourself."

"What if I want to shave my head?" Bella asked smirking.

"Let's not go crazy." Mina told her. "Picture how you see yourself. How you want to look. Everything, hair, color, style. Picture it in your head and go in there and tell one of those women. Make it happen. Make you who you want to be, not who Jason or Edward or Alice or anyone else wanted you to be. Think about it and then go in there and make yourself confident and happy. Decide what and who you want to be and start making it happen. Lesson number three. Winter if you want to look different do the same. If not don't. But be you. You can't seduce anyone unless you think you are beautiful yourself. How can you make someone want you if you don't want yourself?"

"Will you come with me?" Bella asked Mina.

"No. I will stay out here. You do this yourself. Go inside and decide for yourself. Winter you do the same. When you come out I will be here eating and we can continue. Just remember I have rooms reserved for us at the Palace tonight. Lesson four starts in six hours. We are on a time limit and need to move. If you are going to do it, do it now."

Bella took a deep breath and imagined how she wanted to look. Together with Winter they walked inside.

"What are you getting done?" Bella asked Winter.

"I like my hair. Easy to handle. I'm going to just get a trim. What about you? Changing anything?"

"I'm changing everything." Bella said more confidently than she felt. Once her name was called she sat down to the chair she was guided towards.

"My name is Elise. What will we be doing today?"

"Everything. I'm on a time limit so let's not take too long. I want my hair thinned out and straight. I want it to fall to just past my shoulders. I want it black. Midnight black."

"That's going to be quite a change but it will bring out your eyes and cheek bones."

"I know Elise. Make it happen. Also if you have any suggestions about my eyes I would be glad to listen."

"What is wrong with your eyes?"

"How old do you think I am?"

Elise said nothing.

"Exactly. I am twenty. I want my eyes to look like they are the eyes of a twenty year old who has her whole life ahead of her." Bella said, feeling more confident as she spoke.

Winter walked up thirty minutes later.

"Holy shit Bella." She whispered, hardly recognizing the beauty in the chair.

"That's the idea. Do me a favor? Go find me a black dress for tonight. Something that will hug every inch of my body. I want an open back and it should be cut low in the front. Ask Mina if you aren't sure. Also buy me the tightest jeans you can find in your size. We are built the same. Grab me some t shirts and I will be good …no. Lingerie. Victoria's Secret. Have fun. Buy me… things. Thongs. Bras that make me look I have more than I do. Help me out Winter. We can do more later but right now we are on a time limit and this coloring is taking longer than I thought."

"I can do that for you Bella." Winter told her and kissed her cheek.

Bella continued to look at the transformation in the mirror. She liked what she saw. For the first time in a very long time she looked at herself and liked what she saw.

_Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas_

"There is your target." Mina whispered to Bella. They were looking at a man in a very expensive deep blue suit sitting at a high rollers table. He had long dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He was thin, much too thin to be attractive. He had a deep tan that looked to be fake.

"Who is he?" Bella asked.

"Andrew Miramont. Heir to the Marimont Hotels empire. He is a shark here. Regular player who generally drops a couple million a trip. He is clean as far as Interpol is concerned. He is nothing more than a simple playboy who has access to way to much of his daddy's money. There is one quirk he has though. He likes to drug girls before he has sex with them. They follow him willingly enough to his room. Once there he drugs them, has his way with them, and leaves them without a word. None of the girls say anything. How could they? A girl goes up to a rich man's room voluntarily and screams rape the next morning. Not many are likely to take her seriously. This behavior has to stop."

"If they go willingly why does he drug them?" Winter asked.

"It's the power. He likes having absolute control over them. Tonight he learns what it is like to be a victim." Mina answered.

"He already has three blondes around him. How am I supposed to get his attention?" Bella asked. Winter could still not get over Bella's look. She looked like a dark angel. Make up highlighted her face for the first time Winter could ever remember seeing her with it on. Her lips were an understated red and her eyelashes were black and full making her brown eyes seem darker than they actually were.

"You are going to seduce him. You my dear have a look that draws men in. Your eyes are beautiful, despite what you think. You will stand at a distance and watch him. He will scan the room and catch your eyes. You will meet his. He will look away. You will as well. Act as if you are not impressed. He will come back to you. He knows the blondes with him. Perhaps not personally but he knows the type. You are mysterious. He will have to know you. He will come back to you, begging for your attention without ever saying a word. Meet his gaze. The fifth time chuckle to yourself. Act as if you are amused by his attention and look away. After a minute look back at him. If he is still looking he is yours. He will approach you. Play it cool. Everything you imagined yourself to be? The way you want to act? As if you could care less if he was there or not? Use that. He will practically beg to show you his room. Once he does you have him."

"What doI do with him then? Hurt him? Beat him up?" Bella asked, not all sure that she could pull this off.

"No. He will try to drug you. You will slip this into his drink." Mina told Bella, handing her a small clear pouch of white powder.

"Do not drink what is put in front of you. Pretend to if you must but do not swallow. Do whatever you have to do to make sure he is the one who is drugged. Then let us in. I will handle the rest."

Bella nodded and walked towards the table, looking stunning in her black dress. She leaned against a pillar and did just as Mina had told her. She held herself confidently. She also acted confident and amused. She acted a bit bored at times letting her eyes wander. She met the man's eyes a few times. She nearly outright laughed the last time he glanced her way. It played out just as Mina said it would. When he stood up and left the very angry blondes at his side she knew Mina was right. She had him. The power of that emboldened her.

"Can I help you?" she asked as he walked up.

"I had to introduce myself. I am Andrew. What may I call you?"

"That depends. The way you have been looking at me you may as well call me a prize. I believe your blondes are not happy with you." Bella told him, fully engulfing herself into the role. Becoming the person she had ran through and through in her head.

"They are children. You are a woman. I must know you. Are you staying here?"

"Yes. My name is Bell."

"Bell? A beautiful name."

"Thank you Andrew." Bella told him, give him a slight grin and glancing up and down his body. The effect was immediate.

"Perhaps you would care for a drink with me?"

"I can order a drink from the bar at anytime Andrew."

"Not from my suite though. I have to show it to you. It is almost as beautiful as you are. The penthouse. You must see it. We can drink wine while looking over the Vegas skyline. It is too amazing to pass up. Please?"

"I don't usually follow strange men to their hotel rooms Andrew."

"But I am not strange. You know my name, I know yours. We are friends now." He said with a devilish grin.

"Fine. But only a drink. If you think I am that easy you had best rethink your impression of me."

"Of course."

Ten minutes later Bella and Andrew were in front of the door to his penthouse suite. Bella hoped that Mina could get up here without an elevator key. Then she realized it was ridiculous. Even if she couldn't, Bella had this. She could do this. She had done well so far.

Bella stood by the window looking out over the impressive skyline. Andrew walked behind her and placed his cool hand on her bare back.

"Andrew?"

"Yes Bell?"

"Get your fucking hand off me." Bella said in a pleasant tone.

"My apologies. Can I offer you some a glass of wine? A merlot perhaps? I have a great selection. Try this. Make sure to let it breathe before you taste it."

He handed her a glass of dark red wine.

"Is this expensive?" Bella asked him.

"Only about $5000 a bottle." Andrew laughed. Bella poured the drink into a plant next to the window.

"Andrew I drink Tequila. Where the fuck is your bar?" Bella asked, the pleasantness in her voice gone.

"Next room." Andrew whispered, shocked by her actions.

Bella walked quickly to the bar in the next room and found a bottle of Tequila. She deftly poured the powder in a shot glass and poured Tequila over it. She poured one for herself and as Andrew watched she downed it.

Placing the glass in front of him she simply said … "Your turn."

Placed in a position where he could not turn her down Andrew sipped at the…

"Shoot it like a man or I'm leaving. Please don't tell me I found the only man in Vegas who can't shoot straight Tequila." Bella told him.

Andrew shot the glass back.

He smiled and was about to defend his manhood. Before he could his eyes became heavy.

Bella did not bother catching him as he hit the ground hard.

She walked over to the door and was unsurprised to find Mina and Winter there smiling.

"Now the fun starts." Mina said. Bella noted she had steel cable in her hands.

After the three of them had undressed Andrew to his very tiny red bikini underwear they secured his ankles to metal cuffs and then to a steel cable. Mina ran the end to an iron leg of the bar.

Winter shattered the window with a kick. Bella wrote rapist on his forehead with lipstick. She and Winter tossed him out the window. He fell six feet before the cable caught and he hung by his ankles 14 stories above the ground. When he woke he would definitely see the world from a different perspective.

"Don't worry about finger prints ladies. We don't exist. Time to go. I have us rooms reserved at another hotel. The security cameras here will be taken care of by some friends of my own I have."

Thirty minutes later at the Luxor Hotel Bella entered her room and took off her stilettos. They had been difficult to walk on but so worth it. She had learned a lot today and tonight. She had learned about who she wanted to be and she had learned that she could become that person. She learned that it had nothing to do with swords or vampires or any other supernatural event. It all had to do with her. Bella learned she had the power in herself to be anything she wanted. Tonight she was justice. Tomorrow she may be something else. When she saw vampires she would be vengeance.

She peeled off her clothes and lay on top of the very soft bed, naked. Despite what she learned about herself it was the same face that was in her head when she closed her eyes.

She wondered what Jason was doing?

In the next room over Winter stood by the window in deep thought. She considered trying to communicate with Summer in a more substantial way but she did not feel Summer's presence like she had before. She sensed Summer was staying away for some reason.

The reason became clear when a slight knock on the door came. She walked over and opened it, only slightly surprised to see Mina.

"Can you handle this?" Mina asked her.

"Yes." Winter told her.

"I can't teach Bella about sex. I am willing to do this for you. It will be intimate but it will be for your education. The CIA can teach you many things to do with your body. This is not one of them. Make no mistake. I am here to mentor Bella but I want to help you. You understand?"

"Yes." Winter whispered. Then her lips were touched by Mina.

"Then take off your clothes slowly. Then you will undress me and we will begin. Relax. I won't hurt you. This may be the best experience of your life. It stays between the two of us. Understand?"

"Yes." Winter said and then pulled her shirt over her head. Tonight would definitely be a lesson she would never forget.

_Groom Lake Nevada, The next morning_

Bella, Winter and Mina had still not made it back. It was 0700. The team had just finished a 5 mile run and finished weightlifting. Now they were in hand to hand training.

Connolly had sparred with Webb and Boller. Boller lasted thirty two seconds. Webb lasted a bit longer, lasting a while minute and ten seconds and landing a shot on Connolly's chin before getting knocked down by a round house. Now Jason and Ty were on the mat.

Jason made a mistake and Ty used his long legs to sweep him, taking him down for the first time in his life. He was on top of Jason in a second, pounding him while Connolly lay there in a defensive position only able to ward off the blows coming from Gavin's long arms. He was finally able to catch his Ty's wrist and flip him over, going back to his feet. When Connolly stood, he moved in for the kill only for Gavin to stop him with raised hands.

"I'm good fool. First time I ever took you down. Think I'll quit while I'm ahead."

Jason turned to see the rest of the team holding in smiles.

"What? Any of you fuckers want to step up?" he asked annoyed

"Man this girl has got you turned inside out, doesn't she?" Webb said and then laughed.

"Yes, rumor has it over the pond that you are untouchable. You just got touched my friend. Something on your mind?" Clive asked.

"Yeah, three of my fucking team members missed drills yesterday and PT this morning and I don't even know where they are since Mina decided to find and destroy the tracker on her car and not stay in contact per protocol. What if we needed them last night?"

"You think we can't handle things Jason?" John asked.

"Yeah. We can I guess. Still it's against protocol."

"Commander?"

"Yeah?" Jason asked the very nervous soldier that had just walked up.

"You have a call on the secure line. Should be on your ear com on secure level 8."

Secure level 8? That was reserved for only one man. Shit.

"Yes sir?" Connolly greeted the President of the United States.

"Good morning Jason. Are you enjoying your time at Groom Lake?"

"I wouldn't say enjoying sir but the weaponry is fascinating."

"Glad to hear it. I am calling for two reasons. One is you will be receiving coordinates for a possible vampire body dump in Mexico. Over three hundred bodies. They Mexican Authorities have asked for the FBI's help. They were using ground penetrating radar looking for drug tunnels when they found the mass grave. It appeared to have been disturbed very recently and one of the bodies looked fresh. No blood found. They believe it is a cult. They have asked for the FBI's help. I am sending your team instead. Keep the Aurora's under wraps. Land nearby, and cover and guard them, drive in the rest of the way. Vehicles will be waiting for you. Scout the area, find out if there is a coven nearby and destroy them. You will be contacted by a woman named Vivian. She will handle all coms while you are in the field and be your eyes and ears. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Second thing, Were you running any ops in Vegas last night?"

Fuck.

"No sir. My men were here."

"Your men?"

"Apparently the Israeli… Mina decided to take the two girls too Vegas for training." Connolly admitted.

"I see. Apparently the son of one of the richest men in the world was found hanging by his ankles out of the penthouse suite windows this morning. He had rapist written on his nearly naked body. Claims some girl named Bell drugged him the night before. Funny thing is all Caesar's Palace video systems, state of the art systems, went haywire for about three hours and no one saw this girl. So I check with the CIA who tell me an agent from the Mosad happened to land in Vegas yesterday and leave this morning. I'm sure Mina has her reasons but please remind her that this is not Israel and if she plans to seduce and embarrass one of the richest Americans in the world to please run it by me first."

"I will definitely do that sir."

"Sounds good. Happy hunting Connolly. Dave out."

Connolly looked over his men.

"We going to wait for the girls?" Webb asked.

"I don't know." Jason said, frustrated.

"We all had a meeting last night." Ty told him.

"You had a meeting without me?" Connolly asked, instantly alert.

"Yeah it was actually about you." Dante added. "We are all in agreement that since the two of you are going to wind up together anyway, to cut down on the sexual tension you should just ask her out."

"Ask her out?"

"Yeah. We all know you two are into each other. It can only hurt the team if you fight it. So we think you should start dating her, on your time off of course. We have all accept the fact that if it comes down to her or one of us we are fucked anyway. So go for it." Ty suggested.

"That would be unprofessional." Connolly said while giving it some thought.

"This is the most unprofessional team I have ever seen or been a part of. Go for it old boy. Worst that could happen is she shoots you down for fucking the Jewish bird and we all move on." Clive told him.

He had a point.

"You really think I should?"

"Yeah. Take her someplace fun. Laid back. Romance her. I can give you some tips if you want. If there are two things I know, it's killin bitches and romancing women." Ty told him.

"Hey look. Mina and the girls are back." Mikey said, looking at the front screen. A few minutes later the girls walked into the hanger.

"You missed morning PT." Connolly pointed out until he saw Bella. At least who he thought was Bella. She was wearing faded jeans that hugged her like a second skin and a tight black tank top that said Navy on the front. Her hair was thinner and gorgeous. She stood straighter but something else was different about her. Her and Winter. But it was mostly Belle he focused on. Then it hit him.

Her eyes.

They were different. Vibrant. No longer wary. Confident.

"I know. We slept in and even stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way here. I had a chocolate filled one. It was delicious." Mina told him.

"Your stunt caught the eye of the President of the United States." Jason told her.

"Good. He needed to be embarrassed in front of the world. Perhaps next time he will think twice about drugging another girl in his room."

"You got him to his room, drugged him and hanged him upside down from the fourteenth story of Caesar's Palace. Definitely caught his attention I'm sure." Clive mentioned.

"Actually Bella lured him to his room and drugged him. She had him in the palm of her hand."

"She did? You did?" Connolly asked.

"Yes I did." Bella answered with a sly grin.

"How?" he wanted to know.

"Easy. I put the skimpiest dress I could find on and seduced him." Bella told him.

Connolly gritted his teeth but held in the jealousy he was feeling. Jack spoke for him.

"While you two were out we found out we have a mission. So if the two of you could grab your swords and the three of you could change we would appreciate it. We really need to get a move on."

"No problem Jack. Go get our super jet ready and we will be with you in five…no more like ten minutes." Winter told him and strolled off. Everyone noticed she was different as well but no one could put their finger on it.

As the team filed out, Connolly stayed back to catch Bella's attention.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" she asked, stopping and realizing the team continued to move.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out? Like on a date?"

"Death Valley again?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I mean a real date."

"Where would you like to go?" Bella asked.

"Anywhere you want." Connolly told her. He would take what he could get.

"I'll think about it." She told him, surprising the hell out of him.

"Think about it?"

"Yes. You know what that means? Give it some thought, weigh the pros and cons, decide if I am going to let you shave my legs with lotion this time, maybe use a little lotion on you. That sort of thing. I'll think about it and let you know. Of course if I say yes dinner is most likely the most you are going to get. We can start there. I will let you know. Now didn't you say we had a mission to get ready for?"

"Yeah. Yes ma'am." Connolly said, shaking himself out of the daze he was in.

Bella moved in close and kissed his cheek softly then rubbed it.

"You need to shave. See you on the plane." she said, then smiled and walked away. He watched her ass until she was out of the room.

"Damn it. She's got me." he admitted in the empty room and was surprised he didn't mind.

_Wonderland, Cheyenne Wyoming_

President David Rodriguez had flown in on Marine one to referee an argument between two of his oldest friends. He was annoyed. The President had more important things to do. Like play golf today. Then he planned to hang out with Dani at Camp David for a few days. Now this.

Chris Jennings and Father Francis Rodriguez sat across the table glaring at each other.

"I came here as a favor to you, not to listen to this blasphemy, David."

"You and your damned organized religion. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you don't know everything or anything about the other side." Chris suggested.

"Has it ever occurred to you that you are drugging children here?"

"I'm doing it to keep them safe!"

"Gentleman calm down."

"You want me to show you Father? You want to see this other side? Because there are millions of souls fighting the pull between what you call Heaven and Hell."

"Ghosts cannot walk this earth for long. Let them stay there. Demons can but only with hosts and you know this. Demon possession is rare."

"Because they are incorporeal. What if they aren't? What if these doors are signs? Signs that the demons and lost souls of this world are trying to break through. Think of all those demons and evil souls. Souls that aren't evil but filled with regret even, unleashed on this world? What then?"

"Then I would say the book of Revelation is right and perhaps it is time we all start praying."

"And I would say I have a special forces team who is ready to stand in the way of Armageddon and two very special girls wielding Samurai swords ready to kill whatever comes through. But I don't know what I am fighting."

"Then why don't the two of you work together to figure this out?" David asked.

"He wants to take me to some extra dimension. I'm not going there. I place my trust in God." Francis pointed out.

"What if God is placing his trust in you to do the right thing? Help me out here Father. I need you. You are an expert in demonology. Tell me what these things are. At least look at the damn sketch."

Chris shoved the hand drawn sketch towards the Priest who took a deep breath.

"Did you say Samurai swords?" Father Francis asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Where did these swords come from?"

"I don't know. They arrived on my kitchen table. I had a vision leading me to a set of twins. One is dead now and another girl has taken her place, also led to me by a vision. That is all I know. Except for the fact that only these girls can hold them."

Father Francis sighed.

"The demons you saw were most likely Oni"

"Oni? Japanese demons?" Chris asked.

"Yes. And if they are trying to break the barrier they are most likely doing do at the behest of a captain of some sort. I don't know more. These swords have likely been used before. Are they supernaturally strong?"

"Strong enough to cut through …" Chris stopped and looked at the President.

"Cut through vampires. Yes Francis. They exist. I have proof. I have weapons. What I don't have I answers to this demon problem." Dave told him.

"I know." Francis admitted.

"You know what?" Chris asked, not sure if he meant the demons or vampires.

"I know that vampires exist." Francis admitted, shocking both of the men seated with him.

""How the hell …" David started. Chris ignored it. He was focused on the Oni.

"These swords and there sudden appearance are most likely connected to the Oni demons from Japanese mythology encouraging other souls to break down these doors. There is a story here, and the story is in the Vatican archives. The real ones. The ones that were hidden after the burning of the library of Alexandria and wound up in the Vatican's hands. I need to see those scrolls. I need to know how my girls can stop the end of the world. I have a feeling it's been done before."

"I doubt anyone short of the Pope can have access to the archives and I certainly can't get us in. They are the most guarded secret in Rome."

"Do you know where they are?" Dave asked.

"I have heard rumors. That is it."

"My team can get in with your help Francis." Dave told him.

Father Francis looked across the table at Chris Jennings. He was not sure about what went on here. The gifts these children possessed, he worried it could lead to possession and Chris was encouraging it rather than helping the children control it. The other gifted children … still he decided Chris was a good man.

"I will help you on one condition." Francis told him.

"Name it." Chris said immediately.

"That you give me a chance to prove to you that not all vampires are evil. I have a friend. He saved my life once. He is a vampire who exists on donated blood. He is a good man. Give me your word that you will meet with him and not kill him. Do this and I will help you as much as I can."

Neither Dave nor Chris said anything. Finally Chris spoke.

"A vampire killed Summer."

"Not this vampire. Had he been there he most likely would have saved her. He was a revolutionary soldier. His name is Garrett. He had helped this country in secrecy since he was turned after a battle. A vampire from the Volturi tried to feed on me once in New York. He saved me. That is how I know of him."

"You know of the Volturi?" the President asked.

"The two of us talk quite extensively. As I said, he is a good man."

"What is his name?" Dave asked while Chris dropped his head in thought and tried to figure how he would explain this to Winter.

"His name is Garrett and if you give him a chance he can be of great help to us."

The President looked at Chris who gave a feint nod.

"Fine. I will meet with him. My team will be there. He tries anything funny he is ash. Sound fair?"

"Fair enough. He lives and you make no move against him and I agree to help you." Francis offered his hand to President Rodriguez who took it.

"We will meet in Utah. I am assuming you want to be there? Both of you?"

Francis and Chris both nodded their heads.

"Fair enough. I will set up a time next week. Now I really have to spend some time with my daughter. If that will be all?"

"That will be all." Chris said. Francis stood.

"Could I catch a ride back to New York?"

"Yeah I guess so. C'mon on Padre." Dave said smiling.

Chris watched the two fly away.

A vampire. A vampire who could help them?

Winter would not take that well. He wondered how Bella would. He needed Bella here. He needed to work with her on her gift, especially if this vampire was gifted.

Then Chris thought of the banging on the doors of the other side and the fall out should those doors fall.

He realized that while Winter and Bella were the key, at this point he would take all the help he could get.

A/N Next chapter the team comes in contact with a Mexican coven of vampires. Whose is ready for a fight?


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Okay, Like I said this ain't THSB. This story is different and a bit rougher than that story. Garrett will show up next chapter probably. For now some work has to get done and it's going to get rough. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 9

_Mexico, close to Texas border._

"Yep. Definitely a body dump." Connolly told the Mexican Federal Officer in charge of the investigation. The Mexican Drug Enforcement Task Force, a nearly impossible job in this country, had been scanning the area for tunnels that led under the Texas border. Drug traffickers often used these to transport drugs and illegal immigrants into Texas. Instead the ground penetrating radar had led to a huge chasm like space that shouldn't have been there. Upon landing the Mexican authorities could tell a small area had recently been disturbed. Thinking it may be an arms cache they began digging. What they found frightened them.

At least three hundred bodies so far under the desert fourteen feet down and two hundred feet in circumference. The bodies on top of course were the freshest and least decomposed, the freshly dug grave showing the body of a girl taken from a village not far away three days ago. There did not appear to be any blood in her body. The deeper the pit got the older the bodies until some were little more than decomposed skin on skeletons. Connolly had a feeling the pit went very deep.

"Any caves or tunnels found near here?"

"Not that our sonar could pick up." Ricardo Sanchez told him. "We asked for the FBI's help, but understand this is our case. We can at least give some families of missing persons some closure. Perhaps figure out who or what cartel is using this area."

"And what will you do when you find them? The cartel I mean? Raid them? What is your plan to put an end to this? You could stake this area out and hope to catch one of their hit men. Then what? He either rots away in prison or is killed in one to keep him from talking, most likely by one of your own prison guards."

Sanchez sighed, knowing Connolly was right. There was really nothing they could do about this. He had no doubt some of his own men were paid by the cartels and would be on the phone soon if not already alerting their underworld employers of the discovery.

"What would you suggest?" he asked Connolly, the strange FBI agent who arrived with a strange team. These men looked more like battle hardened soldiers than FBI agents even in their suits. The women … something was different about the women. He was not sure but he suspected they were not with the FBI. CIA perhaps?

"Continue to work the crime scene. We will find the killers." Connolly told him.

"And what will you do with the killers?" Sanchez asked.

"Bring them justice of course." Jason smiled.

Sanchez did not miss the fact that he said bring them justice rather than bring them to justice.

"I would like to be a part of this justice you bring." He told Connolly.

"Sorry Ricardo. I sense that you are a good man but you want no part of this. Keep doing what you are doing. Work the scene. We will handle the rest."

As Sanchez suspected, these men and women were not FBI. Nor were they CIA. They were a hit squad. The look in Connolly's eyes discouraged him from asking anymore questions.

Jason turned and walked away, his team following.

"Where are you going?" Ricardo asked.

"To do what we do best. Don't worry bout it. We got this." He told him, his Texas accent obvious.

Sanchez shrugged his shoulders and focused on the gruesome scene before him. He wondered how long this pit had been here. How many bodies buried. How many years it would take to identify all of these people.

Then he thought of justice and the looks on the soldiers faces. He took some satisfaction from those looks and returned to the task at hand.

The team entered three desert colored Hummers and drove off. Before they were a mile down the road Connolly was on the com.

"Vivian you there?"

"Where the hell else would I be sir? What am I supposed to call you anyway?"

"I'm Connolly. That works. What are our satellites showing near here? Say within a thirty mile radius. Any tunnels or underground caverns?"

"Yes. A small mountainous area, that appears to have a large cave inside of it. There are at least four smaller tunnels exiting the mountain. They don't appear to be difficult to get down to. I can send in robots to scout out the tunnels but that would take time."

"Forget about robots. You have been briefed on what we are dealing with, correct? Any large drops we would need ropes to descend?"

"Impossible to tell but from what I have now there don't appear to be so. The cavern is only about one hundred feet underground. It will be a hard run back up if you have to retreat."

"Send me the schematics on my portable. Can you pick up any movement in the large cavern?"

"Possibly. Large groups of movement. Impossible to see how many are down there. We can send in small drones…"

"If we alert them to our presence they are gone. If they are hiding there during the day we have them."

"They will most likely come out to feed at night." Winter told him. "We can wait until morning or mow them down as they come out."

"Bullshit. I'm going in." Connolly told her." I'm not giving them a chance to kill someone else tonight. I flush them out and the rest of you cover the exits. When they run, mow them down. We hit hard and fast. We have four hours of daylight left. We strike in three hours. One of the Auroras will handle the tops of the mountain. Dante you can handle that. Hawk you cover one exit with your XM214 minigun. Anything that comes out blow to hell. Winter can be with you. Bella you, and John can hold another exit. Clive you and Mina got the third. Mikey I want you on the guns of the other Aurora covering the fourth exit. Anybody I don't smoke inside is going to have to exit. We get them all. Ty I want you on the highest peak here. You can see three exits. Take out anyone you can. Winter how many vampires, if you had to guess are we looking at?" Jason asked her.

"Anywhere from two to two hundred. Also they could have gifts we know nothing about. What is the plan if they overrun you and just decide to keep you there for a while?" Winter asked. "I mean I know you like to be John Wayne and all but…"

"You questioning me?" Jason asked Winter, surprised at the normally quiet girl.

"Bella and I are the vampire killers. You and this team support us." She told him forcefully.

"You think she is ready for this?" Jason asked, looking at Bella.

"You think you are? She is as fast and strong as they are in the darkness and can't be touched by gifts. You? Not even close. They will take you in a second." Winter pointed out.

"I'm ready. I've got more experience and have survived more encounters with vampires than you have. I'm pretty sure you have zero experience." Bella told Connolly, angry at his assessment. "I walked out of the Volturi castle, a place you have only seen on a map. Don't worry about me."

"Yeah and with the two auroras in the sky you really think it's a good idea to go in alone LT? We never go in alone unless we have to." Ty pointed out.

Connolly took a breath and looked at Jack and Ty.

"Fine, The four of us go in. Ty, Winter Bella and I. We drop some grenades, fire a couple thousand rounds and chop some fuckers to pieces. Then you guys pick off the hostiles who escape us. Sound better everybody?"

The team nodded. Jack had a point about too many alpha dogs being on this team. He normally was never questioned. He had a bad feeling about this but decided Winter was right. He had to fight the urge to protect Bella. He had to remember why she was here.

"I want all of you in cover then. Fire suppressors on the rifles. Each of you shoot for the heads. If one gets past you do not chase. Vivian I expect you to keep the team apprised of where the hostiles are. You up for it?"

"I know my job." she told him. Jason could almost swear he could hear her smacking gum.

Two and a half hours later the team was nearly ready. Bella and Winter sat together in an empty room close together.

"You ready for this" Winter asked her.

"I don't know. I'm pretty damn scared to be honest. I never really planned on dying a virgin." Bella admitted and then laughed.

"Yeah glad I got that little issue out of the way." Winter whispered and looked off with a grin.

It took a moment for Bells to catch on.

"No you did not bitch!" she said and laughed.

"Yep."

"With?"

"Yep." Winter grinned.

"How was it?" Bella asked, genuinely curious.

"My jaw still aches and it was so worth it." Winter smiled.

"I can't believe you!" Bella told her bumping her shoulder.

"Yes you can. You should let her teach you a few things. Your man seems like kind of a dick." Winter told her.

"He is nervous. Not for himself. I think he had this idea of taking on the world by himself and having us there as a last resort." Bella told her a bit defensively.

"Damn you got it bad don't you?" Winter noted, smiling. Bella realizing how quickly she became defensive smiled.

"Yeah I guess I do. He asked me out."

"What did you say?"

"I would think about it."

Winter laughed.

"He will probably want to take you to play paint ball or to a gun show. You should really give women serious consideration Bella."

"You're not going to try to kiss me again are you?" Bella joked.

"Are you kidding? After Mina? Your new look is hot and all but uh…"

"Gee thanks for building my confidence." Bella told her.

"He is crazy about you. You know it. You have all the confidence you need." Winter told her honestly.

"Thanks. You really think so?"

"You can be so fucking stupid it hurts sometimes. I love you but damn can you be stupid. Hank liked you in eight grade and you were clueless."

"He had acne!" Bella said goading her friend.

"Who didn't back then? He still had a decent body."

"I was 14." Bella pointed out.

"And you spent most of your time staring at the mirror wondering if your boobs were going to get bigger."

"Yeah. Unfortunately I took after my Dad in that department." Bella said with a sigh.

"They are perfect on your frame. Trust me. If there is one thing I know its women's bodies." She said with a grin.

"At least a certain Israeli spy."

"By the way I wasn't supposed to tell you so …."

"Then why did you?"

"I had to tell somebody. You are all I got Bella. I don't want to lose you tonight. Stay by my side and shoot anything that moves and doesn't have a heartbeat. Okay?"

"What if I can't shoot fast enough?"

"Then pull that sword and let it go to work. You know what to do. Right?"

"Yeah. No worries. I'm going to be around a long time so you can lust after me. I get a boob job and you will forget the Mosad agent in a heartbeat."

"Maybe. But I guarantee she won't forget me."

"Hey you girls ready to move? We are loading up." Connolly said walking in. Both Bella and Winter stood up. They were wearing the matching jackets Mina gave them and had hand guns strapped to both there thighs.

"Yep. I guess we are. Just make sure you stay behind me. I'll protect you." Bella told Connolly and winked. She patted his ass when she walked by as he stood there in shock.

Thirty minutes later the silent aircraft had dropped all the team at the designated locations. Winter, Bella, Ty and Connolly stood at the entrance. All were dressed in black as it would be dark in the tunnels. Connolly had night vision goggles on and Ty had infrared set to pick up movement of anything between 88 and 100 degrees. Winter and Bella both agreed those were the standard temperatures of vampires depending on how long it had been since they fed and how much. Bella shivered as she remembered how she kept Edward Cullen fairly warm each night.

She remembered Jake's heat from the one kiss they shared. The night before during the blizzard wrapped up in him. Had it not been for Edward she may have fallen for him. Had she stayed that is. But it wasn't to be. She knew that the moment she saw Jason.

She remembered Jason running a knife's blade so gently over her legs.

Bella made up her mind. She would survive tonight.

The four descended into the dark tunnel. Due to the weakening sunlight outside the tunnel became very dark but it did not matter. She knew with the sword her eyesight was as good as a vampires.

Both her and Winter heard movement up ahead. The four had already walked down the tunnel at a steady descent for twenty minutes.

Then the movement stopped.

Bella placed a hand on Ty's shoulder who grabbed Connolly at the front. Ty placed a finger to his lips.

"It's too late. The fuckers can hear our heartbeats." Winter told the three.

Connolly made a decision. Get stuck in the tunnel or rush the opening. It wasn't a hard choice. He ran, Ty behind him. Bella and Winter moved to catch up, both cursing under their breath.

Connolly and Ty reached the end of the tunnel and looked down at the pit twenty feet below them.

They both froze. Even in the darkness their goggles showed them all they needed to see. Bella and Winter didn't need goggles to see.

The pit was wider than a basketball court and filled with vampires who had been … it looked like a feeding orgy down there. Humans were mixed with vampires.

The vampires kept the humans for snacks.

The one in the middle stopped and looked at the four new arrivals. She was a Spanish woman by descent, that was easy enough to deduce for Bella and Winter even in the darkness.

Bella wondered if this was the woman, Maria, who Jasper had told her about.

Connolly estimated at least fifty vampires were present.

"You can't drop a grenade. Some of those people are still alive." Ty pointed out.

Connolly opened fire. The first vampire he shot in the head. His head was half torn off. This caused the others to panic and forget their momentary snacks.

"Take them!" the Spanish woman in the middle yelled pointing at the four.

At least until Ty Gavin blew her head off her shoulders, causing her body to erupt in flames and light to fill the room.

The vampires panicked, running for the exit. A few were brave enough to attack the humans. Winter looked at Bella who nodded. They both jumped into the fray.

Moving like ballerinas in a dance of death, swords flashing in the darkness, they did not need night vision to separate friend from foe. Connolly and Ty continued firing from above, concentrating on the exits. Four vampires rushed the top of the pit and attacked. Connolly dropped seeming to pass out. Gavin was right behind him. The four continued until Bella, sensing something was wrong turned and tossed her sword in Jason and Ty's direction.

The katana twisted in the air, cutting the approaching vampires legs off. A vampire grabbed her from behind and prepared to bite her. A katana flew past Bella's cheek and planted itself into the vampire's forehead. Flying back to Winter's hand she grabbed her sword and backed up to Bella. More had decided the exits were not suitable and began attacking the two girls in the middle. Bella was focused on the two men above her. She could feel they were under some sort of spell by a vampire still on the ground, legless, crawling towards the two men. She focused all her will on her two friends who rose from their stupor and fired, taking out the four vampires. Bella called for her sword with her hand. The katana, embedded in the rock shot back to her. She grabbed it in midair and turned to swing towards Winter who ducked instinctively. With Winter low Bella's blade cut through a vampire who had approached Winter from behind.

"Summer the exits!" Winter screamed.

Bella circled Winter, cutting vsmpire hands and stabbing chests as Winter concentrated on helping her sister's soul affect the corporeal plane. Two exits crashed, rocks filling the tunnels. Six vampires were cut off and quickly mowed down by Connolly and Ty.

Up above a stream of the monsters reached the surface. The first group of three survivors was greeted by a very large human holding a very large weapon. The weapon had six barrels and began firing the barrels turning in a circle shredding them.

Six vampires were met by Mina, Clive and Jack Webb who shot from cover. The vampires never saw the bullets or guns that ended their existence.

At the other exit John Anderson was not so lucky. Ten had made it out. He fired and was seen immediately. Still he had the Aurora flown by Mikey Boller as backup.

Vivian alerted Mikey in the sky. As Mikey aimed his guns, he was seen by another vampire. John pulled his knife but was overran. He slashed two necks before his own was snapped. Mikey Boller opened fire. He was startled when the defensive guns on the Aurora began firing. Who would fire on his ship? Before he could move a rock thrown by a vampire had struck the underside of the left wing sending the craft into a tailspin. Although he tried to avoid it, the loss of control made it impossible for him to steer. Another large boulder crashed through the cockpit window, smashing Mikey Boller's head and ending his life.

"Boller and Aurora 2 are down. Anderson is down. Dante I need you on the East side. We have 5 running in the open desert." Vivian's voice alerted the team.

Dante Youngblood held in the horror at what he had just heard. He had seen battle and lost friends. The time to grieve would be later. He moved over the range. The running vampires stopped as they heard the approaching craft. One began to look for another boulder but they were in flat land. It didn't matter. The minute they stopped Dante unleashed a hellfire missile. It struck the ground among the vampires and shrapnel and fire covered two hundred yards of desert reaching back into the exit and scorching one survivor. He took the craft over the top of a mountain and lit the now dark sky with UV light. It had become daylight over the mountain.

Inside the cavern, Bella and Winter stood on top of a pile of vampire body parts, covered in red and black blood. Their swords were no longer shiny. They dripped blood. Bella saw Connolly had sustained a tear to his shoulder and could nearly see the muscle through the blood. Ty had a gash to his head and blood running down his face. Both had their weapons at the ready looking for targets.

"Everybody dead?" Connolly asked.

"Vampires are. Sixteen humans down here have throats ripped out. Two are still alive, barely. They have lost a lot of blood." Winter told him.

"Can you two carry them and follow us out?"

"Yeah." Bella agreed, placing her bloody sword back inside her jacket. She lifted one girl while Winter lifted the other and they both easily jumped the twenty feet to the exit. Ty took the tail while Connolly took the lead with the two girls carrying the two victims behind him.

One vampire jumped down where he had been hiding from an overhead rock formation, clamping his jaws on Connolly's shoulder. A blade appeared from Connolly's wrist and he reached back and sliced the creatures throat before and blood could be drained. Ty ran around and shot the creatures head.

They continued the slow climb until they reached the exit.

"Vivian you there?" Connolly asked, hoping they were high enough that communication could be restored.

"Here Connolly."

"We are all free. We have two humans in need of immediate blood. Every vampire is dead down there. How are we doing up here?" Connolly didn't notice the fire on the east side because Dante had the mountain lit up with UVs.

He didn't notice at first.

"Dante?"

"I had to use a hellfire." Dante said in a monotone voice.

"Anyone get away?"

"Not on this side." Webb said. Me, Clive and Mina are fine."

"I'm good. Got some vampire body parts I'm roasting." Hawk stated.

"Cool. Anderson? Boller? You copy?"

Silence.

"Guys?" Jason whispered.

"We lost an Aurora. Anderson was overran and Boller tried to help but the defensive systems of the Aurora's need work. He was taken down and Anderson … They are gone. That's why I had to use the hellfire missile sir." Dante informed him.

Silence.

No one said a word. Bella and Winter stood in shock. The adrenalin rush they had felt before, slaughtering vampires was gone in an instant. Both felt incredibly tired and were hurting, as if they had taken a blow to the chest.

It was Connolly who spoke finally.

"Vivian call Groom Lake and tell them we have a level black down and need retrieval and removal. Gather fire extinguishers from the Hummers men and let's get our guys out. Bella and Winter will use their blades to cut metal if we have to. Let's get our guys and get them home. Vivian also contact Sanchez and tell him we need a medivac for two females with extreme blood loss. We are going to start transfusions in the field. Ty can you handle that?"

"Yeah brother. Let's go girls. Hurry." Ty told Bella and Winter who still carried the girls in their small arms. The women were the same size making an awkward scene but Bella and Winter handled their bodies with no problems.

"Okay. Dante as soon as we get Anderson and Boller free take them to the base. Our base, not Groom Lake. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Jack secure the Aurora. Don't let anyone near it. Camo it from the sky. Blow it if you have to."

"It's already blown Jay. I will take care of it though."

"Thank you."

Bella walked back over to Connolly who stood motionlessly.

"Let me see your shoulder." She told him, holding a roll of tape.

"I'm fine."

"You've got an inch deep gash in the muscle. Your are not fine. I need to bandage it and put some sort of sling. You don't take care of it you won't be able to stay combat ready. We need you Jason. I need you." Bella told him.

"I got them killed." Jason said quietly, sitting on the ground. "This is over. You and Winter, you are going back to Wonderland. We … the damn aircraft was supposed to be … this should have…"

"Would you have given your life if it meant saving two girls?" Bella asked him.

"Yes."

"So would they. Winter and I aren't going a damn place. Don't think you are the only one who gets to save the world. We must have taken out thirty to fifty vampires tonight. Just us. Mikey and John died but what we did tonight, what we all did saved countless humans for hundred of years to come. Did you think no one would get hurt? Killed?" Bella asked him.

"I figured if anyone would it would be me." he admitted.

"We didn't sign up for this to be safe. I thought I was going to die. I saw you and Ty drop and you could very easily have died. This is what we do now Jason. You told me that. Don't back out. They need you. They are going to be hurting and they are going to need you. I need you to be strong. We all do."

"They need me? I got … it was a dumb plan. I went in not knowing, underestimating the strength…"

"And those two girls would be dead instead of getting medical treatment. I have a feeling if the President wanted someone who would be cautious he wouldn't have chosen you."

Connolly said nothing but did allow Bella to start wrapping her shoulder. Neither knew they were being watched by three individuals two miles away.

"Looks like your hunch was right again Peter. That was Maria's feeding ground that was found." Jasper said.

"I can't believe what I just saw. Eleven humans just took out her entire army." Peter whispered.

"Nine humans now." Charlotte whispered.

"And one of them was Bella fucking Swan." Jasper added, catching both by surprise. They hadn't noticed.

"Did you see her and that other girl carrying those two half dead girls out? Where the hell did those tiny girls get that kind of strength?" Jasper asked.

"Got no idea. Did you see that bomb that damn UFO unleashed? Since when do bombs kill us? Especially at night? There was metal in there. Shrapnel flying through the fire cutting those bastards to pieces. What do you want to do Jasper? Take Bella?"

Jasper thought about what he had just seen and doubted very much whether he could take Bella or even if he should.

"Nope. But we are staying the hell away from Edward. I can't have him reading our minds. We keep this to ourselves. See the guy getting his shoulder wrapped by Bella? He must be the leader. We need to find out where they are going. Where they live."

"Why? You want to take him out?" Peter asked doubtfully.

"Take him out? His team just destroyed Maria's army. I want to shake his hand. But first I need to know more."

"This changes everything Jasper." Charlotte observed correctly.

"Yep. Change ain't always a bad thing, as long as you are on the right side. That's why we have to be careful." Jasper told her.

"They ain't gonna be easy to follow." Peter told him.

"Don't have to. Only one place a ship like that could be built."

"Area 51?"

"Area 51." Jasper said, agreeing with Peter.

"So we are going to break into that place? Jasper that could be suicide."

"Yeah but we can hack it. At least I bet Jenks knows someone who can. Will get him to find out who these people are and where they live. Then we will watch."

"What then?" Charlotte asked.

"I guess we will figure it out as we go along."

_Ten miles off the coast of Galveston Texas. Orion deep water drilling platform._

The past week had been difficult. The team was quiet, no one really celebrating the victory in Mexico. Bella was still getting used to her new quarters. The base was not what she expected. From the surface it appeared to be an ordinary drilling rig, one of hundreds that dotted the Texas Coast. This one however had an elevator that carried the team to a base attached to the bottom sitting under one hundred feet of muddy Gulf water. The base was three levels and made of concrete and steel. No windows looked out into the water. It was the equivalent of being in a very, very large submarine. The confined space bothered her at first. Frequent trips up the platform manned by soldiers posing as oil rig workers, who were actually MPs and told to guard the platform and not ask questions about the inhabitants below, did little to comfort her. The only time they had left the rig was for a flight to Washington DC to be at the funerals of Mike Boller and john Anderson. The team poured over satellite images, trained, ran on treadmills, scuba dived, sparred, and shot at the indoor shooting range. Still they were all anxious. Anxious to get out on the next mission.

All but their leader.

Connolly had led the training. He had spoken at the funerals. That was it. The rest of the time he stayed holed up in his quarters going over and over every bit of data he had on vampires.

Jack Webb entered his quarters without knocking. Ty Gavin was behind him.

"Come in." Connolly said snidely.

"Where you been? Guys want to go fishing. You need to be up there." Gavin told him.

"I lost two guys last week. Not really in the mood."

"We've all lost guys. We will lose more. You are our leader. They need to see you strong. You start doubting yourself they start doubting." Webb told him.

"Maybe they should. The President wants me to recruit more. He thinks our battle was a success."

That's because it was. We won. We were outnumbered and we won." Webb pointed out.

"I know."

"You and me were in the mess of it. Bella saved both our asses and could have been killed in the process if it wasn't for Winter. That botherin you?" Ty asked.

"Yeah. Everything is bothering me."

"Man the fuck up or get off this boat. That girl upstairs got every reason to be afraid and she ain't. Why the hell are you?" Gavin asked angrily.

"I'm not fucking scared! I am fucking pissed off!" Connolly yelled.

"Then fuckin act like it. Get your ass out there, get some more guys, get on those geeks at Area 51 to give us better shit and start actin like a fuckin leader!" Webb yelled back.

"That's it? You want me to go fishing? I want to go kill these fuckers and you want me to fish?!"

"We want you to act like a leader. You aren't going off on your own. We are going with you whether you like it or not. You know how to be a leader. Yeah we took a fucking hit. It's war. We have lived with that our whole lives. Your problem is you thought you would get through this unscathed. We all would. It's going to be as bloody and messy as you can imagine and you need to come to grips with that."

"I can't lose her!" Connolly shouted before he could pull it back in.

Gavin knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You ain't got her. You don't get your shit together you never will. You the best Seal I ever seen. Me and everybody here would follow you through hell and that is exactly where we are going. We knew that when we signed up. We got problems. Jenks called and said his vampire Jasper wants him to hack Area 51 and find us. They must have seen us in Mexico. Who knows who he told? The President says we need more guys and you need to find them. Our men need you back. And if you really want her, stop pouting in your damn bunk and go do something about it. Bella wants to see you before you go up."

Jack and Ty stood up and walked out.

After a moment Jason walked out as well. On his way he knocked on Bella's door.

She told him to come in. He opened the door and his heart stopped. She stood there in a short black satin nightgown.

"Uh …"

"Close the door." Bella told him.

"What's going on?"

"Since those funerals I have been doing a lot of thinking. I've decided life is too short. You are the one thing I don't want to live without."

"Yeah I kind of came to the same conclusion about you." He admitted.

"I want you. You want me. You asked me out? We can go fishing. But I don't want to smell fish on you. So I figured we were going to do this first."

"You sure this is what you want?" he asked.

"I'm sure I want you. I'm sure I am going to take what I want. You want me I'm yours. All you have to do is come here."

Connolly stepped forward. Bella placed a hand on his chest.

"How is your shoulder?"

"Good enough." He whispered.

"I want the man who went into a pit of vampires with me. Is that you?"

"Your damn right it is."

"Don't ever forget it Jason."

Bella pulled off his shirt and ran her fingers over his chest. She raised her arms and he slipped the nightgown over her head, seeing her standing in only a matching black satin thong. He slipped those down to her ankles and she stepped out of them.

He tried to take in the beauty of her naked form but she was on her knees in front of him, tugging his pants down. Using her hand was unnecessary to get him ready but she did it anyway sending shockwaves through his body. Her tongue ran up his shaft and he took a deep breath as her lips went over his head. Rather than sucking though she let her tongue explore him. Finally she stood up and grabbed his cock with her hand, backing up to her bed.

"I've never done this before." She told him.

"I know."

"You don't have to be gentle."

"Never crossed my mind. I've never done this before either." He admitted.

"I think we both know that's not true." She said grinning.

"I've never made love to a woman. Sex sure. But Bella I love you. I've loved you from the moment I saw you."

"I love you. I'll love you with everything I have whether it's one day or 80 years. Take me. Show me how much you love me."

Bella lay on her back and spread her legs. Instead of the pain she expected she gasped when she felt his tongue part her folds. His fingers and mouth drove her crazy to the point she was afraid she would hurt his head by squeezing her thighs together too tightly. She suddenly wished she had asked Winter to take her sword away from her closet.

It didn't matter. As soon as his tongue caused her to orgasm he entered her quickly causing her to scream. The pleasure and agony hit her at once. At a loss for what to do she pressed her lips to his and opened her mouth, letting his tongue in. His hips began rocking and his one good arm wrapped around her back. His other hand stayed on top and alternated playing with her breast and tweaking her nipple. She moaned into his mouth and they kept moving. Soon the pain was gone. Bella felt like they were one. She wrapped her legs around him and let him take her back and forth until she felt his seed fill her up. Instead of withdrawing he lay on her and continued kissing her lips gently and teasing her nipple. He used his tongue to explore her body and then took her to the shower where he washed her.

She was sore. She hurt.

She had never felt as much pleasure and pain at one time.

And neither had ever felt more complete.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Thanks everybody for the response to last chapter. I read all opinions and think about them, although the story is ultimately mine and I write it the way it comes to me. This chapter will be particularly difficult for me to write. Why? Because my laptop crashed or something and I am having to use my son's and I swear it has the most fucked up keyboard I have ever seen. It has taken me five minutes to get this far in the AN. Those geeks better have my crap fixed today.

Okay I received an email this morning that The Bodyguard has been nominated for top ten fics completed in August at Twifan fiction recs. All one word. Figured maybe I could sneak an address past FFN. Speaking of FFN an edited (gasp! not by me,) version of Atonement is about to be the featured story on Bella Macleod's website, her name as one word with a net at the end. I will be posting a lot of my stories there in the future. There are also a few other authors including Bella who have their work posted. It's kind of a place where certain very good writers write what they want, FFN rules be damned sort of thing. There are also different banners and such so check it out if you get a chance. Chasing Bella is now on chapter 14 of Tricky Raven. That story has not been forgotten. Its just that this story is coming into my head so much that I am afraid Connolly will show up in that one and kill everybody involved. Things are starting to come together with the team and Bella in the first ten chapters. I have a feeling this will be a lot like Protecting Maddie and Growing up where I take each story in certain parts of my mind. Also please keep those reviews coming. I have gotten reviews on Sins of the Past and Maddie and am getting closer to that 1K threshold I love. My wife told me she tried to read Sins of the Past and I had issues so she won't be any help getting it to 1K

I mean seriously this damn keyboard is curved. Who the fuck curves a keyboard? What else? Ty Gavin has been bugging me about getting his own facebook page where he can post and have pictures of places from the stories I write. Who would by show of reviews actually be friends with Ty Gavin? Seriously? Okay, on with the story.

_Groom lake Nevada_

The Director of Area 51 was extremely annoyed. Not only was one of his prized possessions destroyed, but he was also expecting a visit today from the commander of the team who destroyed it and the President of the United States. Area 51 had never been visited by the President. Any President. Not since Truman signed his executive order.

Now this. He was ordered, _ordered,_ by the executive branch to provide military equipment to a highly unusual team to fight an enemy he now knew were vampires. Had he been told before this would have made a difference. Instead he had to watch the battle unfold from one of his hidden cameras in the Aurora.

He was not a man to be ordered by anyone. He ran this base and kept its secrets with efficiency. The President did not belong here. If he thought a simple politician would tell him what to do he was sorely mistaken. These men were Army but they were loyal to him.

The door to Hanger bay 1 opened and the Presidential limo pulled in joined by two black SUVs, no doubt Secret Service. They would be forced to give up their weapons, whether they liked it or not.

Out of the back of the limo, stepped Jason Connolly and President David Rodriguez. The pair approached the Director.

"I am afraid your men will have to surrender their weapons. No weapons are allowed…"

The Director found himself on the floor with a broken jaw. He never saw Connolly strike. Connolly was in a particularly foul mood. After spending the week making love to Bella, running PT and drills with his team, generally relaxing and showing Bella the sites of the island he was irritated the team had split up. He sent Jack Webb and Ty to recruit the guys he decided he wanted. Vivian, the 18 year old goth hacker with a pierced lip, tongue, belly button and other assorted places Connolly did not want to know about, stayed behind at the base, keeping the team in communication with each other and monitoring satellites and listening devices, including the one on Jenks phone. He also sent Clive, Dante, and Mina to La Push while Winter visited Charlie Swan. Why? He wanted contact established with all potential players in case back up was needed. Charlie also needed to know his daughter was okay. Bella was at Wonderland with Chris learning to use whatever it was she used in Mexico to save Jason and Ty's asses on a more regular basis and with more control. He missed her badly. He was also very pissed about the failures of the Aurora and the loss of his men.

"You can strike me all you want Connolly. The order stands. Not even you President Rodriguez can supersede it." The Director said from the ground.

"Truman is dead and I have a new executive order. I want to know every secret this base has." The President informed him

"I'm afraid that isn't possible." The director smiled through the blood leaking from his mouth. "Perhaps if you would have told me you were facing vampires I could have…"

"How the fuck do you know what we faced?" Jason asked.

"You think I don't have my own cameras on my equipment?"

"That equipment belongs to the United States of America. As its elected Commander in Chief it belongs to me." The President told him.

"What is your name?" Connolly asked.

"Like you I don't exist. My name does not matter. I am in complete control of this base."

"Who replaces you when you die?" Jason asked.

This surprised the director.

"Die?"

"Yes. You are what? Fifty or so? There must be a chain that carries over. Who is in control in the event of your death?"

"I am afraid that I am not at liberty to say." The Director told him.

"I guess we will find out the old fashioned way. Jason?" The President said.

The gunshot echoed off the walls as a perfect hole formed in the director's forehead. He fell back on the ground a puddle of blood forming under the back of his head.

"Next." Connolly spoke.

A man with glasses ran out from a room nobody noticed before. Three Secret Service Agents turned toward the door guns raised. It was a soldier at the other end who pointed his weapon at the President. A shot from the Presidential limo knocked the soldier to the ground. Dan Hawk stepped out of the car, smoking rifle in hand.

"You can't do this!" The man with glasses and Connolly noticed, the stain of urine on his crotch, screamed at the President.

Connolly raised his .45.

"Are you in control now?" he asked.

"Yes and you…"

The gun blast startled the soldiers who had been drawn down on by Hawk and the Secret Service Agents.

A silver haired man the President did not recognize walked into the hangar from a side door.

"You next?" Connolly asked.

"My name is General Winfield. You will no longer find me on any official military roster. I am … I was third in command. I suppose I am in charge now."

Connolly walked up and placed the barrel of his sidearm to the General's head.

"My man Hawk there is going to start putting bodies in a pile. Eventually you will all be dead or one of you will crack. If one of you doesn't turn over control of this base to us, the entire US military will take control and find out every secret you have. While they are doing that I am going to grab anybody I think knows something and begin cutting. I will cut and cut until I believe I have extracted every piece of information I believe they have. Now my question to you Winfield is are you going to cooperate or join the pile of bodies I am making on the floor?"

"I suppose I will cooperate. Welcome to Area 51 Mr. President."

President Rodriguez straightened his jacket and adjusted his tie.

"In five seconds every soldier that doesn't remember who he works for and is still holding a rifle will be shot dead. Understand?" The President asked.

"Drop your weapons men. It appears Truman's executive order is a thing of the past. You should know sir there are men who …" the General began

"Should be very fucking afraid of me." Connolly finished for him. The look in his eyes surprised the General. Connolly was not the psychopath the General first thought. He was a killer but he was in absolute control.

"Of course. I will provide a list of names of people you may want to have a talk with."

"Kill you mean? I got no problem with that. To quote our last President, if you aren't with me you are against me and trust me I am the thing that goes bump in the night." Connolly informed him.

"Connolly?" Vivian's voice cut into his ear piece. She was annoying and young, 18 years old, but according to the President she was the best hacker the NSA had ever run across. She was given the option of a job or a CIA prison for life. She broke into NORAD. Though the NSA would never be able to prove it was her they did not need proof. She and they both knew that. She took the job. Besides since she had been given this assignment for the first time in her life she wasn't bored.

"Yeah?"

"Someone on the base is trying to make a cell call. Third hanger to the right. I have all communications blocked and the number traced."

"Sounds good. Hawk?"

"Yes sir?"

"Go get the little shit."

"Yes sir."

"Hawk? I just want him scared."

"Pain is scary." Hawk said walking away. Connolly couldn't disagree.

"Okay General. I am guessing this is the Aurora program I have heard so much about. Jason has a list of upgrades he would like to see done immediately. The element you will need for the upgrades will be here this afternoon. Since you were involved in the design of the weapons I am guessing you are familiar with it."

"Yes sir."

"Good. I also want body armor that covers the entire chest and abdominal region that blocks out sound, especially heartbeats. You will figure out a cooling system so we don't overheat. I want the scent blockers perfect. I want longer blades made, machettes even. I want smaller goggles that can be adjusted from night vision to more clearly make out the temperature of vampires. The Aurora needs reflector shields for the day and better camo at night. I'm pissed off that they can be seen that easily in the dark. The defensive systems need work, the guns need to be more responsive and accurate and the glass needs to be able to withstand anything thrown at it. Anything. The UV lights worked great. I want grenades that can do the same for an extended period of time without hurting humans. Minimal blasts. I want all of this in a hurry. Also land mines." Connolly told him.

"Is that all?" General Winfield laughed and then looked at the two bodies on the floor. The smile was gone from his face.

"Not even close. But it's a start." The President told him. "Now show me the underground area."

"You understand sir what is there may frighten you. Truman … we are talking about…"

"Show me the underground area. I have a place called Wonderland where a five year old girl resides who could knock this base to rubble with her mind. I have children that can see the dead. Yes the dead. Now show me your secrets." The President ordered.

The two men followed General Winfield through a door followed by six Secret Service agents.

The door led to a set of stairways. The General punched in a code next to the door at the bottom of the stairs and his eyes were scanned. The door opened and another set of stairs appeared. At the bottom a large set of steel doors at least two stories high stood against rock. The General once again punched in a code, looked into an eye scanner and pricked his thumb placing it on a pad for DNA identification.

"You will of course provide us with complete access to this place before we leave today." The President told the General.

"Of course sir." The steel doors opened and the President gasped. Inside was a room at least five football fields in length and width.

In the center stood what looked like an advanced large Aurora.

"That is…?" Connolly asked.

"What we have reversed engineered the Stealth Bomber and the Aurora fighters from. The Roswell crash. It is a complete wreck inside, it can't fly, but we have gotten quite a bit of engineering ideas from it, including antimatter engines to stabilize wormholes. Space travel to any part of the galaxy could be possible … in the next twenty years."

"I see." The President whispered. "And this is something you didn't think I needed to know about?"

"Plausi…"

"Before I was a politician I was a Seal. If you say plausible deniability I will take Jason's side arm and shoot you in the gut and watch as you bleed out on the floor. Understand?"

"Yes Mr. President. Would you like to see the rest of what we have? The bodies perhaps?"

"Yes. I would definitely like to see the bodies and everything else you have here."

The three walked, flanked by Secret Service Agents who did not feel at ease in this environment. Not until these army men had all be debriefed and _contained_ and the Marines had taken over the base.

"Is that the Loch Ness Monster?" Jason asked, staring at the huge aquatic tank on one side of the wall. A monster with a neck stretching at least twenty feet long floated inside, obviously dead.

"You could say it is one of them. The reason for the appearances of the creatures over so many years without a trace being found is because they do not live in the loch anymore. Nor do the other similar lake monsters around the world. They are actually dinosaurs from millions of years ago."

"How did they get here?" Jason asked.

"Time travel apparently. At times we have discovered, picked up magnetic anomalies, much like we pick up in the Bermuda Triangle at times. It appears wormholes can appear at random and can literally bend time. These monsters are from a different time but of course they do not know this. They can be seen in the loch or whatever lake they belong in and swim out. Of course lake beds change and we have found these. Luckily we have procured what we hope are all of them. So far no land dwelling creatures have shown up. We are hopeful these holes are related to high concentrations of Quartz found in lakes. The Triangle we haven't quite figured out." He admitted.

"So these creatures are swimming around in their own time and then swimming in ours none the wiser. A passing motorist takes a photo or has a sighting and then the creature is gone."

"Yes. It is possible most big foot sightings are actually a form of early humans traveling back and forth in time by the same manner. Again we don't know but we are studying this."

"Who is we? I see no scientists." The President observed.

"They …hid the minute they heard shooting. Shall I have them come out?"

"No. One of them might piss me off." Connolly answered quickly. "What the fuck is that?" he asked pointing to the form in ice. It had the head of a wolf but a very large body.

"We found that buried in a glacier in Greenland. From all indications it appears to be what the Lycan legends were founded on. This one is a thousand or so years old and appears to have fell into a glacial crevice."

"Lycans?" Connolly asked.

"Yes, the DNA is a mixture of wolf and human."

"Lycan's exist?" Jason asked, to make sure.

"We believe them to be wiped out, mostly by some natural enemy. We thought perhaps they were alien experiments until we learned of your vampires. It is entirely possible these vamperic creatures could have wiped out the race."

"How do you know they are gone?" Jason asked.

"We haven't found anymore." The general replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"That could mean they got smarter." Connolly pointed out. The President agreed with a nod. Best not to assume anything at this point.

"Have you ran tests on it besides DNA?" Rodriguez asked.

"We only know that silver does indeed burn it."

"These legends, some of them are only hundreds of years old, not thousands. They could very well be alive and thriving somewhere. I want work done on this as well. I want to know everything. Speaking of we have a bag of vampire body parts in one of the SUVs. I expect to know everything about them ASAP. You have a lot of work to do so get your men working."

"What of the alien threat we have been working on?" The general asked.

"Have aliens done a damn thing beside observe us and crash a ship in the desert?"

"Not that we know of sir."

"Well vampires have been killing humans for a very long time. I also have other problems I need to go over with Connolly. Let's concentrate on saving our species from direct threats before we concentrate on indirect ones. Get to work. Get what Connolly needs. Get him more Auroras and get him the armor and scent blocker he wants. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. C'mon Jason. We have some place to be."

"Where would that be sir?" Jason asked, still looking at the wonders in the large room. There was so much to take in.

""Utah. We have a vampire to meet."

"You mean kill sir?" Jason asked immediately.

"No. I mean meet. We are going to hear him out." David told him.

"And if it is hostile?"

"Then you kill him. I don't think he is. He has been friends with a priest I served with for a very long time. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Can I count on you for that or do I need to go alone?"

"I'll be by your side Mr. President." Connolly said through gritted teeth. Vampires? Vampires were not friends they were targets. Of course if this one wanted to provide free intelligence who was he to say no?

_Fork's Washington_

Seth Clearwater opened the door. He had been wary at first but heard a heartbeat immediately, causing him to relax. He and Leah had been staying with Charlie since Edward and Alice Cullen had shown back up in Forks. They had not been seen but that did not mean they weren't around. Leah walked to the door as Seth opened it.

Outside they saw a small girl with short dark hair and a slight frame. She was wearing blue jeans and a black Guns and Roses T shirt. Her eyes looked wary but both could tell she was young. She had a guitar case slung over her back and a suitcase in her hand.

"Hi. I wasn't expecting…whoever you are. Is Uncle Charlie here?"

"Uncle Charlie?" Seth asked, knowing Charlie was an only child.

"Seth who is it?"

"There is Uncle Charlie." The girl walked in, pushing past Seth and Leah with a strength that surprised both of them. They immediately went on alert. Only a vampire should be that strong and definitely not in the daytime. Still her heart beat. She was human.

Charlie Swan walked into the living room from the kitchen. Confusion colored his face when he saw Winter.

"It's your niece Winter! Don't you recognize me?"

Charlie Swan was in uniform. He reached for his hand gun ever so slightly while glancing at Leah and Seth.

"You really don't want to do that." Winter whispered. "Say hi and act like you are happy to see me."

Charlie's hand stopped.

"I can take that gun from your hand and have it in pieces in seconds. If you really want to see Bella again you are going to play along." Winter whispered.

"Hi Winter! Good to see you." Charlie said doubtfully.

"Is Edward Cullen or any other vampires around?" Winter whispered, turning to Leah and Seth. They both shook their head in the negative.

"You sure?' Winter whispered.

"We have constant patrols around this residence. Paul is …who the fuck are you?" Leah asked. Winter looked at her, meeting her eyes for the first time.

"I'm … their eyes locked. Leah jumped back as if startled.

No. she thought. Sam … this can't be happening.

Winter shook herself out of her daze.

"I'm Winter Drake. I work with Bella. Charlie I am assuming since you have two shape shifters here and one guarding the back of your house you know about Bella? About the Cullens? Why she ran?"

"Yes. You work with Bella? Where is she?"

"Not now. She is safe. More than safe. I came to make sure you were and you had an idea of what she…what we were all facing."

"I…I do. And you say you 'work' with Bella?"

"Bella was friends with my sister and I in Phoenix."

"Phoenix. Where is your sister?" Charlie asked.

All around me was Winter's first thought.

"Dead. Killed by vampires."

That brought silence to all three. Winter felt the need to look at Leah. That is exactly why she didn't. Instead she walked over to her guitar case and opened it. Seth gasped when he saw what was in it. She first pulled out a shotgun and handed it to Charlie.

"If you have to, and only if you have to, use this gun on Cullen. Place the barrel to his head and while he laughs pull the trigger. Do it quickly."

"What good will it do?" Charlie asked.

"Blow his fucking head off. Trust me." Winter told him. She grabbed two hand guns from the case and two clips along with what appeared to be holsters of some sort. She strapped them around her tiny thighs.

"Just in case." She said by way of explanation. Seth reached for the shiny silver katana in the middle of the case. Winter smirked but said nothing. He picked the sword up and stared at it for a few seconds before it hit the ground. He tried to lift it but was unable. Winter reached out to the handle and it flew to her hand.

"What the hell?" Seth asked, shocked.

"We have a lot to talk about and not much time. I will be staying with you as much as possible until I am called away to meet up with Bella again Uncle Charlie. Understand?"

"We are staying with Charlie." Leah said quietly staring at the strange girl who seemed armed to the teeth and just had a sword fly into her hand.

"Great. One big happy family. As I said a lot to go over. If everything goes well the vampires die and Bella gets her life back. If she wants."

"What do you mean if she wants? What vampires? The Cullens? Or… the Volturi?"Charlie asked.

"All of them if it works out. Now let's get started shall we?" Winter said and smiled. She also glanced at Leah who couldn't take her eyes off of her and was feeling very conflicted about this.

_La Push Washington_

Emily did not feel good about this. A beautiful woman was at her door wanting to speak to Sam.

"Hi I'm Mina. Is Sam Uley here?"

'Yes he is. Is there something I can help you with? I'm his wife."

"I need to speak to him alone or with Jacob if he is around. That is his Rabbit I saw outside correct?"

'Yes. What business do you have with him?" Emily asked.

"Pack business," was the answer Mina gave and the last answer Emily expected to hear. She supposed Sam and Jacob heard as well because they were at the door quickly.

"Who are you?" Sam asked, a bit angrily.

"My name is Mina."

"Mina what?' Jacob asked. She gave him her seductive smile and worked her charm with the slightest European accent. She was dressed conservatively for her. Designer jeans and a low cut green top that showed the barest hint of breast and made it obvious she wore no bra underneath.

"I'm like Madonna. One name will do. May we talk? I have information you may be interested in. Only information."

"Of course. Come inside." Sam stepped aside and waited for her to walk in.

"Actually I think it would be better if you two followed me."

Mina walked off while Jacob and Sam stared. She stopped after twenty yards.

"Trust me. You will want to hear this." She told them and began walking away again. "If you are scared turn into big scary wolves the moment we hit the tree line. But I promise I don't bite. Much."

Sam looked at Jacob and they both shrugged. Sam kissed Emily on the shoulder while Jake felt a hand on his. He turned and kissed Kacee, the girl he had dated for a month. She was not his imprint but it didn't matter. She was fun to be around and made him feel better. He supposed ironically she was what he had been for Bella. He had told her about the Pack two weeks ago when he saved her from a nomadic vampire.

"Be careful," she whispered.

"I will be. Do me a favor and stay here inside till I get back?" he asked.

"Of course."

The two followed the obviously somewhat European woman into the woods. Both were impressed by her hiking ability. Both being men had difficulty keeping their eyes off her ass. She finally stopped a couple hundred yards in and turned to them. She sat on a fallen tree.

"Forgive me for being so secretive but my commanding officer doesn't like any of us going anywhere alone." She told them.

"Us? Alone" There is no one he…" Sam heard the heartbeats and realized his, Jacob and Mina's were not the only ones present. Both Sam and Jacob looked side to side and saw the foliage come alive. On either side stood two men in amazing camouflage pointing rifles at them.

"This is Clive and Dante. We mean you no harm. The rifles are simply to discourage you from making any sudden moves."

"Two heat signatures moving in your direction at high speed." Vivian's voice rang out in the ear pieces all three wore. Sam and Jake heard as well.

"Tell your dogs to back off or this friendly conversation gets ugly mate." Clive told Sam.

"Embry, Quil! Back off." Sam shouted.

"Okay they are not moving. Holding steady two hundred and twenty six yards away."

"What do you want from us?" Jake asked.

"Nothing. We are here to give you information. We are going to trust you with some highly classified information. We all have our secrets Sam but your pack and mine? We have something in common." Mina told him.

"What would that be?" Jake asked.

"We both want vampires dead. Specifically the Cullens and Volturi are high at the moment, on our list. Willing to listen? We may need you at some point and thought a get to know each other session may be a good idea."

Sam looked at Jake and then the two soldiers. Then they both looked to the sky. It was obvious they were being watched by a satellite. Sam nodded his head.

"We are listening."

_Wonderland Cheyenne Wyoming._

"It's good to see you Bella."

"You too Chris. I missed you. You wouldn't believe what I have been through since I left." Bella told him.

"One look at you and I would believe anything. You grew up on me in a short time. In love with Connolly aren't you?"

Bella blushed and nodded.

"He loves you. It's new for him. How are the two of you doing?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really know. I'm kind of new at this regular relationship stuff."

"Nothing is regular about him Bella. So I understand you were able to counter a vampire's gift in Mexico?"

"Yeah. It wasn't easy. I had to stop fighting. Winter saved my ass." Bella admitted.

"I suppose we should get to work then?" Chris asked, smiling. It was 6 AM. They had all day.

"No. I need to run five miles, push-ups, sit ups, dive bombers, pull ups and then combat for ten minutes. You wouldn't happen to have a heavy bag around would you?"

Chris laughed.

"Yes you are definitely different. And here I was worried I didn't have enough cigarettes for you. Yeah I will have one set up in the barn."

Two hours later the two began to work. First talking about what Bella was thinking when she used her gift and then what she felt. Chris taught her deep meditation. He taught her breathing techniques. He had Emmy taken off her medication for one day so he could see if Bella could stop her and Chris from visiting the spirit world. Bella was not able and Chris brought Emmy back quickly and had her take her meds. More souls were banging on the gates, if it was at all possible. Definitely more demons.

"What's wrong Chris?" Bella asked, recognizing something had bothered him greatly as he watched Emmy take her medication.

"Nothing you need to worry about now Bella. I just need information from a priest who is being difficult. Nothing to worry about. Let's get back to work. I don't really want to bother the other children so we will see if you can latch onto something in that head of yours."

The two practiced meditation for a week. Several times Bella thought she had it, only to be distracted by the thought of Jason. He called her nightly but something seemed off.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Later. You work on what you need to work on. I will be in Galveston when you get back. I love you Bella."

"I love you. I'm worried about you. You seem strange. Ever since you came back from …" Bella wouldn't say it over the phone … and then Dug …Utah."

"Some things have happened. Some things have changed. Maybe. But that will be up to you. You and Winter."

"Okay. Don't be mysterious or anything. You aren't going to do anything dangerous are you?"

"What in our lives isn't dangerous?" He asked seriously.

At the end of the week Chris was frustrated though he didn't let it show. He did share one truth with Bella.

"Bella there is absolutely no way we can get a good bearing on your power without testing it in the field."

"You mean I have to be around gifted vampires?"

"I have felt it. I don't think it's a shield as much as a sharing. You can send your gift of blocking powers to others in range of you. I don't know what that range is and I have no way of knowing how to test it safely."

Bella picked up her phone and called Jason.

"Hey baby. I was just about to call you."

During the day? Jason always called at night.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just…instead of meeting you at our base I need you to go to Utah. You will meet Winter there. We have an offer. Remember the Priest who Chris told you was being difficult? He has a friend. The priest has agreed to help us if we let his friend help us."

"Why …how could his friend help us?"

"He is a vampire Bella."

"Oh…" Bella froze. Being around a vampire she couldn't kill. Oh my God how would Winter take it?

"I've been around him for a week. He seems genuine. But he knows of your past with vampires. He knows one killed Summer. He knows the Volturi and hates them. He wants to help. I'm not sure how you or Winter will take it. If either of you say no we will figure something else out."

"I'm confused. What do we need this Priest for?"

"To break into the secret Vatican archives."

"Why would we need him?"

"He may have an idea of where they are. We have no idea. But in that archive could be the secret to you and Winter's swords and why they are needed. Bella I don't think it has to do with vampires either. Neither does the President. Neither does Chris."

Bella looked sharply at Chris. She supposed he could guess what the conversation was about.

"Will Chris be coming to this meeting?" she asked bluntly.

"Yes. I am about to call Winter and let her know. She has been hanging out with your Dad. Ty and Jack have had some success getting two new replacements on the team. They will be at the home base getting caught up. Ty and Jack are on their way to this meeting."

"Let me call Winter. She will take it better coming from me." Bella sighed. "What is this vampire's name?"

"Garrett."

"Okay. Let me see what I can do. Hey cheer up. I love you."

"I love you. When you get here I am going to show you how much I love you. Had any luck with your gift?"

"No. Unfortunately Chris, who has a lot of explaining to do, believes the only way to know for sure is to field test on a gifted vampire. I don't suppose this vampire is gifted?"

"No."

"Damn it." Bella whispered.

"However Jenks knows where three vampires are and one is gifted. With our weapons and this Garrett guy it is possible to take them captive, and keep them under UV rays to keep them that way. Use his two friends to convince him to cooperate."

"What kind of gift are we talking about?" Bella asked.

"Empath. Can manipulate other's emotions. Shouldn't be able to do any real damage to our men and women. You could practice."

"Empath? You mean…"

"Yeah. I mean. I know he attacked you once."

"He is bad news Jason. I told you what he was like in the newborn battle. At least I heard about it. He taught the others to fight. He has never lost a fight."

"He has never gone against us. He wants Jenks to find us so bad. Maybe it's time we found him."

"I want to be there."

"Ty, Jack, Clive, Mina, Dante and Hawk are already in position. I am going to be there in five minutes."

"You are going without me!?" Bella shouted.

"Bella you know this is a dangerous life. We also have …"

"You have the vampire Garrett with you, don't you?" Bella asked, sighing.

"Yeah … But like I said you or Winter say the word and he is gone, figuratively and literally. Just give him a chance to say his peace. I think… my instincts tell me I can trust him."

"Fine. So you are taking these three to Dugway as well?" Bella asked, not even bothering to hide the base name from the open line.

"Yes."

"I'll be leaving with Chris in an hour. Make sure you are there safely when I get back Jason."

"They are in New Mexico. The house is shut up but we will have them in sunshine. It will be okay. I promise. Love you babe. See you at the Proving Grounds."

The call ended and Bella looked scornfully at Chris.

"You got some explaining to do." She told him.

"I wanted you to concentrate on your work. I would have told you. I was going to call Winter and talk to both of you tonight at the same time."

Bella sighed. She looked around and knew something was bothering Chris. He never would have agreed to this if he didn't need to know the story of these swords. She looked at the bunk houses holding children who could destroy the world or go insane if he didn't take care of them. She knew he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Sounds good. But we need to call her now. We are leaving in an hour for Utah. Looks like you might get your wish after all."

"What do you mean? The vampire they have is gifted?" Chris asked.

"No. The idiots are going to try to take three vampires as prisoners." Bella sighed, tears threatening to break through. All she could think about was the look on Jasper's face when he attacked her.

"God help them." She whispered and prepared to call Winter and have a difficult conversation with her.

_Albuquerque New Mexico _

"So you getting any of your feelings" Jasper asked Peter as he and Charlotte sat around the kitchen table.

"Yeah. But I'm not sure what. It's not necessarily bad but…"

"Relax Peter. It will be okay." Jasper smiled.

"Think so huh? Your boy Jenks? He is running pretty slow." Peter pointed out.

"That's because they probably got to him." Jasper pointed out.

"They?" Charlotte asked.

"Yep." Jasper sighed.

"Then they know we are here?" Peter asked.

"Yep."

"Then why the fuck are we here?!" Charlotte practically screamed.

At that moment four large harpoons shot into the kitchen catching walls. Grapplers came out the sides of the harpoons. The sound of high powered engines revved and soon the kitchen walls of the small house were gone.

The three were sitting in direct sunlight surrounded by men dressed completely in black holding rifles to their heads.

Jasper was unsurprised to see them. He had been waiting for a week.

Peter turned into a defensive position in front of Charlotte. Hawk hit him in the face and he stumbled back, weakened by the direct sunlight.

"Calm down Peter. If they meant to kill us they would have already." Jasper said coolly.

"Jury is still out Whitlock. Or is it Hale? Or Cullen?"

The man pulled off his black mask to reveal Jason Connolly's face.

"Yeah but you need me right? To test Bella's Swan. See if she can protect others from vampire gifts?"

Jasper sensed fear and anger at the mention of her name.

"You love her huh? Don't like me sayin her name?"

Connolly pulled a sidearm and placed it up to Jasper's head.

"I start to feel the least bit strange off I am blowing your fucking head off and your friends go down too. Understand?"

"Yeah. We mean you no harm. Hell I been waitin on you. Why you think I told Jenks where I was? You think I don't know you got him in your back pocket. I hope Bella told you I wasn't stupid."

Jasper felt it again from the man. Best not to say her name or he might be getting one of those bullets in his head.

"Leave it alone Jason. He means her no harm. He can be of some help. All three can."

"We will see." Connolly said quietly. "You so much look at Bella sideways I'll blow your fucking head off."

For the first time since the harpoons came through the walls Jasper was surprised.

"Garrett?"

"Peter, Charlotte, Jasper. Good to see you. I do hope you won't cause any trouble. These boys are a bit trigger happy."

"I can see that. So where are we going?" Jasper asked.

"Dugway Proving Grounds." Garrett told them.

"And what will we be doing there?" Peter asked.

"Proving you can be of some use to us. Because if you can't I will hold you down while Bella cuts your fucking head off." Connolly told Jasper.

Jasper could feel the emotions rolling off the man. He had no doubt Connolly would do exactly that. This man was a stone cold killer.

Jasper liked him already.


	11. Chapter 11

Don't own Twilight. All original characters and plot are mine.

A/N Hello everybody. I should have mentioned this last chapter. This chapter will fill in some of the gaps of what happened the week Bella was in Wyoming with Chris. It will also cover Ty and Jack's recruiting trips and how Jasper was found.

I decided after giving it a lot of thought that this will be my last Twilight story. I figure it started with Connolly so it might as well end with him. The fact is every time I write a Bella or a Garrett or Peter it is kind of like writing an OC since not much information was given in the stories about them with the exception of Bella who came off as weak. This story has a lot of characters who haven't been developed the way I would like them to as yet and may not throughout the story because there simply isn't room. I'm averaging about 6000 words a chapter and that is the most I have ever done for a story and there still doesn't seem to be enough space. Also my own OCs, Connolly, Ty, Webb, Hawk, Winter and her sister Summer, who I killed before this story even started to make room for Bella and even Mina are wanting stories told and they don't fit in to the Twilight Universe anymore. It seems like every story I spend time building Bella into an OC instead of canon Bella, which is cool but takes a lot of work. For instance I see and write Mina as the character Bella played in God and Country. The overconfident, seductive hit woman who thinks she can take on the world by herself and probably could. I think she would be a perfect match for Connolly in that role. But it can't happen in this story or it wouldn't be Twilight. See what I mean?

That said after this and Chasing Bella are done so am I with Twilight. Does that mean I'm done writing? No. My OCs want to be heard and have stories to telI that have nothing to do with sparkling vampires. I simply don't have the patience for publishing or the time it takes to put into it. I looked around for original writers sites and really didn't like any of them. I want to continue to post stories though and get reader feedback at no cost to the readers because to me it's not about the money. That said my wife has been searching and building a site for me and my new stories and it will also include any other writers that want to write there, be it an original or a fan fiction from any genre. I just don't think I can do fan fiction anymore. Honestly this story is getting so out of character for the Twilight characters I'm not sure it could be classified as Twilight FF besides the names of the characters. This story still has a ways to go. I see it clocking in at about 25 to 30 chapters. Chasing Bella probably has ten more. As my website which will be open to the public, becomes more solid I will be updating you all on where it is and I hope you will all join me there because I love your feedback. Except if someone tells me I spelled waste, waist. I don't really care but thanks for noticing;) I'm a story teller not a technical writer or English teacher. I've misspelled Colombia so many times I don't think I am even allowed to use that country as a location anymore. Okay who is ready to see Connolly meet Garrett?

_Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah._

"I have to admit sir. You certainly travel in style." Connolly told the President as they stepped out of Marine one in the middle of one of the most guarded secret bases in the US Military. Conspiracy theorists loved to talk about possible alien bases here at Dugway. The truth was Dugway is what the government has always claimed it to be. A base designed to develop defenses against chemical and biological agents in war. Due to the nature of the work, the base had to be isolated and sealed off from the public. If Dugway could be described as one thing it would be isolated. There was nothing to be seen for miles except the army barracks. Most of the work went on underground, for safety and secrecy. Still accidents happened as the sheep from years past could attest.

"Believe it or not, I envy you. I loved my days with the Seals. Flying into hot LZs never knowing if you were going to make it out. Sneaking up on enemies through the murky water or jungle. Becoming one with your surroundings while preparing to take out your enemy. When I became involved in politics to me it was another type of war. But politics are not as exciting." The President told Jason.

This was why the majority of the Armed Forces loved President David Rodriguez. He had been one of them. Not a cargo pilot or officer on a large battle ship. He had been a Seal. He knew what combat was and he asked nothing of the men and women of the armed services that he would not do himself.

"This Priest we are meeting? Why do we need him? Why do we need to go into the Vatican archives?" Jason asked.

Dave sighed.

"Because Chris Jennings thinks the two swords your girls have are involved with have something to do with the netherworld. We know the swords are supernatural in origin. We don't know why they appeared or why only two girls at one time can wield them. We believe the story may be in the Vatican archives. The real ones, not the ones in Vatican City. It seems all of the recorded knowledge of mankind was at one point stored in the Library of Alexandria. When it was destroyed much of that information appeared to have been lost. But rumors over the years surfaced. Rumors about the knowledge, much of it anyway being saved and somehow falling into the hands of the Vatican. Chris is convinced if he can find the archives he can find out why the swords are here and where they came from. At least what purpose they serve. I served with Francis. He was a Seal before he was a priest. Took a bullet for me once. He seems to think he might know of a few places we can look. But in order to give us information he wants a chance to convince us that not all vampires are evil. Apparently this Garrett guy has been around since the American Revolution and been helping our country this entire time. I had no idea Francis had a vampire friend."

"I'm sorry sir, did you say netherworld?" Connolly asked, making sure he heard correctly and very concerned that he did.

"Yes. The children at Wonderland are gifted as you know. Some have the gift to see and speak to the dead who have not moved on. Some can actually travel to the netherworld like Chris. Call them mediums if you like. The netherworld is the spiritual plane between what I suppose a Christian like myself would call Heaven and Hell. Souls who fight to stay out of Hell and those who aren't ready for the peace of Heaven. At least that is how Chris explained it to me. Apparently recently seven doors have appeared there and millions of souls are threatening to break them down. They are being encouraged by demons called Onis. These are demons from Japa…"

"Yes sir. I know the story. Just so we are clear, you brought me aboard to kill vampires. How exactly do you want me to kill people who are already dead?" Connolly asked, interrupting the President.

David smiled.

"I don't know yet. I don't even know if it is needed. But Chris Jennings is a man to be trusted and if he says something is wrong we have to pay attention. If having a get to know you session with a vampire is needed then it's what we do."

Jason looked at the President doubtfully. Dave laughed.

"Hey I don't talk to dead people or travel to different spiritual planes. I'm just passing on what I have been told. It's worth looking into. I want to know more about those swords and I know you do too. I know you have a personal interest in finding out more." Dave said with meaning.

"Sir?"

"I keep tabs on my people Jason. I don't care what you and Bella are doing. But what if her being in possession of that sword means that her and Winter are going to be facing something greater than vampires? Don't you want to know what you could do to help if needed?"

"Yes sir." Connolly told him. "Who told you …"

"Chris Jennings sees a lot of things. Don't be surprised. He may dress and talk like a typical Wyoming cowboy but there is more going on with him than you would suspect."

"I see. Netherworld. Ghosts. Mystical samurai swords, Japanese demons. A vampire who is a friend of a priest. Library of Alexandria, hidden Vatican archives. Am I missing anything so far?"

"You know what I know." The President told him as he walked through the a door into an office building, the two men flanked by Secret Service who were still on alert after what happened at Area 51.

The President punched a numeric code into the elevator. The door opened and he motioned Connolly inside.

"Take the elevator to the fifth sublevel. There is a conference room there. It has UV lights. The vampire is there."

"You're not coming sir?" Jason asked, surprised.

"Are you kidding? I'm the President of the United States. I'm 53 years old. You get paid to take chances, not me. I get paid to carry nuclear launch codes on me at all times. Get to know him. If he seems alright call me and I will come down. You have multiple weapons on you. You will be fine. I have all the faith in the world in you. Francis is here and I want to catch up. The last time we spoke we didn't have a whole lot of time talking about things besides Japanese demons."

"Yes sir." Connolly said. He punched S 5 and the door closed immediately. Within seconds it opened again. Stepping out very carefully he listened to what was around him, hand near his .45.

"I'm in the conference room. These damn lights are killing me. Francis said you wouldn't. Kill me that is. Why don't you come have a seat?" a voice from down the hall called out.

Connolly walked down the hall taking in his surroundings. Without access to the elevator both would be trapped down here. With the lights it would be a toss up between him and the vampire in a fight. He liked those odds.

Garrett sat at the table trying not to squint and took in the man who walked surely but cautiously into the conference room. He liked what he saw immediately. He noted how Connolly took a look at every angle of the room and Garrett in half a second as if by seeing it he had it memorized. Garrett thought he probably did.

"Go the other side please." Connolly instructed the vampire. Garrett was sitting at the head of a long conference table nearest the door.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry for the confusion. When I said please you must have taken it as a request. Go to the other side now. I like to be by the door, not backed up to a wall." Jason told him.

Garrett chuckled but did throw his hands up and move slowly to the other side of the table. Connolly sat and tilted his chair so he could view both the vampire and the door. He lifted his legs and placed them on the table. The position made him seem relaxed but actually gave him quicker access to his gun.

"So you are Garrett?"

"Yes. And you are Lt. Commander Jason Connolly. I have seen your work before in Somalia and once in Siberia. I am a fan."

"Bullshit. You must have broken into files. Those missions were top secret. I would have noticed you."

"No you wouldn't. I was turned during the American Revolution. I have some years on you. If I don't want to be seen I won't be. I am as good at disappearing as you are."

"That right? So what happened in Siberia?" Connolly asked.

"You recovered a downed satellite. I got there first but when I saw your team skydive in I stepped back. You met resistance from the South. Russian troops. You killed six of them personally and your team killed 17. By the way there was a team flanking you from the North. I have no doubt you could have taken them but I decided to save you the trouble. I left thirty dead and buried them in the snow. I bet the Russians have still not found the bodies. Siberia is a lonely place, especially at night."

"Why were you there?"

"The same reason you were. I figured the satellite was important so I went for it. I happened to be in the area and had a source in the Pentagon who thought I may be of some use. I fought for this country before I was turned and have been looking out for it ever since. I have been at every major American battle. I tend to stick to the shadows but help out when needed."

"Who is your source in the Pentagon?" Jason asked immediately, wondering if the name was on a list he was given by the new director of Area 51.

"I'll never say. Call him Deep throat if it makes you feel better and you must have a name."

"You think I need your help? Why now? We have what we need to kill vampires." Connolly pointed out to him.

"Well since we are no longer a secret to the Government I felt there was no need to keep my secret. I have in-depth knowledge of vampires. Hiding places, covens, lairs. I have been in many places in my two hundred plus years."

"And you want to help me wipe out your own kind." Jason stated doubtfully.

"We are not all killers. Yes I would like to help you kill the ones who are."

"So what sort of knowledge can you give me that I need?"

"The inside of the Volturi castle for one. I absolutely hate those murdering bastards. I also know many other murdering bastards. I know many vampires, even those who would be willing to help. As I am sure Father Francis told you, we are not all evil."

"I already have a source who has been in the Volturi castle." Jason told him.

"Really? Has she been in the secret entrances? Does she know the entire layout? Because I do."

Jason did not miss that Garrett said she.

"Your face betrays you, no matter how well you hide it. I mean her no harm. I know what Edward Cullen did to her. What he still wants to do to her. The entire coven wants her. At least most of them. She thinks she only has Edward to fear. She has no idea the peaceful doctor is the true one to be afraid of."

"The doctor? He is the one to be afraid of? Let me guess. His wife is a blood thirsty murderer who makes Pasta. From what I understand the Jasper guy is the one to be afraid of." Jason told him.

"As I said you know nothing. Neither does your girlfriend. You only think you do. Jasper is the least of  
your problems. Did you know his wife is cheating on him with Edward Cullen? Did you know the woman Rosalie is fucking every male in the coven? Not just her husband."

"No I don't happen to be aware of the inner workings of the Cullens. I only know what Bella knows." Connolly admitted.

"These are all things I can help you with. How would you like for your team to practice fighting a vampire in the dark? One who won't kill you. I will be willing to do this provided you don't use whatever weapons you have that could turn me to dust."

Connolly could admit to himself that would be nice. Having an insider with the knowledge he needed. Almost like a spy.

"I am assuming since you know about Bella you know about her partner?"

"The other samurai girl? Yes. I understand her sister was killed by Jane, a member of the Volturi. I realize her mission in life is to kill all vampires. I know your team did a splendid job taking out Maria and her army in Mexico. But you cannot kill all vampires. There are too many of us. More than you could guess. Francis also told me about your concerns about other supernatural creatures. I can only tell you Lycans exist but not many live in the States. Most prefer the wild areas of Europe."

"I'm glad to see Francis can keep secrets from the enemy." Jason said sarcastically.

"Because he knows I am not the enemy. He knows I can help you. I saved him once from a vampire."

Jason did not follow this train of discussion. It could be spoken about later.

"So that was Maria we killed. Were you there?" Jason asked. He had read about the supposedly feared sire of Jasper Hale. She provide nice target for Ty and light so they could see better in the room.

"No. I heard about it."

"Francis didn't know about that mission." Jason pointed out.

"As I said not all vampires are evil. A few are friends who trust me. They probably wouldn't if they knew I was speaking with you now. You were witnessed. Once word of the body dump reached the public Jasper Hale and his children so to speak, Peter and Charlotte Whitlock came looking for Maria. Instead they saw you from a very long distance. They also saw Bella and have not spoken to the Cullens about it. Peter Whitlock called me in a panic to let me know that humans now had the means to kill vampires. The two of us are friends. I spoke to Francis who had just arrived back from a very special place he refused to talk about in Wyoming. He knew of course about your team and the two of us talked. I decided now was the perfect time to align myself officially again with the United States. Simply put I want in."

"You understand if Winter and Bella don't want you around this is out of the question?"

"Yes."

"How the hell am I supposed to ever trust you?" Connolly asked.

"What the hell do you want me to do to prove my loyalty?" Garrett countered.

Connolly didn't answer because he simply didn't know. Instead he asked a different question.

"How were you turned into a vampire?"

"I was in the battle of Lexington. I was shot in the gut. As I lay dying a vampire approached me and carried me from the battlefield. He told me he was impressed by my bravery and thought I would be a good companion for him. He changed me. He nearly drained what blood was left in my body and replaced it by having me drink his blood or I suppose you could call it venom. Whichever term you use doesn't matter. He taught me everything about being a vampire. He taught me to drink without killing. He taught me to kill. I found the idea of killing innocent people and even feeding off of them repulsing and decided to continue to fight the Brits because it was what I had started out doing and what I wanted to finish. I wanted to see a nation born. I had absolutely no problem killing the Brits. The vampire was angry that I wanted to continue to fight what he considered a human war and none of our kinds business. He left me but we met up over the years and put aside our differences. At least until I learned of his actions. He had actually became a doctor and fed from his patients, most of them under his spell. I left him again but I did discover that bags of donated blood were as good as small sips from humans and much better than feeding from animals."

"A doctor? You mean to say…"

"Yes. Carlisle Cullen is my sire. I still keep up with him but we are not friends. I like to keep an eye on what he is doing. Right now he is looking desperately for your Bella. He needs her to protect him from the Volturi's gifts. The Volturi want her turned so they can have both her and Edward for their gifts. They especially covet Bella who both Carlisle and Aro believe has great potential. At this moment the only vampires who know that she is a sword wielding vampire killer working for the government is myself, Peter and Charlotte Whitlock and Jasper Hale. His original name is Whitlock as well if you were wondering.

"He turned his kin?" Jason asked.

"No. They took his name. The three escaped Maria's army together and are close. They were traveling companions until Jasper met and fell in love with Alice. He has recently discovered her infidelities with Edward but is biding his time."

"I see…"

Connolly could recognize that if this man was telling the truth he could be an incredible asset to the team. He also realized he had no way of verifying if this vampire was telling the truth.

"Plus I understand Francis could be of some help to you and that is why I am here and still alive. His help is contingent on letting me in." Garrett pointed out with a grin.

"You may find this hard to believe but I am not a particularly religious person. What is to stop me from working my way through the hierarchy of the Vatican until I find the information I want? I am very good at extracting information."

"Yes but where would you start?" Garrett asked with a grin.

"Do you think I am afraid of starting at the top?" Connolly smirked.

"Do you think he knows? You probably believed the President knew everything about Area 51. He didn't, did he? I saw the remains of the Roswell crash. I followed and saw the military hide that craft and those bodies. While I have never actually been inside Area 51's lower areas I am not stupid. I know there are many secrets kept from the top of the chain. Perhaps not any longer after your visit. You do have a way with people. But this is different. You are speaking of men who are true believers. If anyone could get information it would be a former Navy Seal who is now a priest and friends with your President."

Connolly sat back and stared at the vampire across the table, taking him in. He usually trusted his instincts on who he could and could not trust. This was different. He couldn't get a read on this creature. He hated vampires. They had killed two of his men and ruined the life of the woman he loved. They had killed the twin sister of a woman he respected.

Still…

"Aren't you curious how strong I am in this light? How strong I am at night? How acute my senses are? My night vision? My sense of smell? How I track? This has to be too good for you to pass up." Garrett pointed out.

"I will bring my team here. We will make a decision. I won't force them to fight with anyone or thing they don't trust. If they agree then it will be up to Bella and Winter."

"Outstanding. While we are waiting for your team I would suggest we fight, with the lights on of course. I am quite adept at martial arts and have seen you in action. I would love the chance to take you on. I am still stronger than you, even in this light."

"You think so huh?" Connolly asked and couldn't hold back the grin on his face.

"There is only one way to find out. Let me meet your President and your team. We can spend the week training. I will tell you every single thing I know about the vampire world. If at the end of the week the two samurais say I have to leave, then I leave and will not bother you again. I give you my word."

Connolly sighed.

"Fine. I'm going to call the President down here. I am armed to the teeth but I am sure you know that. The Priest can come too. If he gives the okay I bring in the team. If that goes well, I bring in the girls. If you survive Bella and Winter's blades I suppose you can join us."

_Pakistan, CIA black site._

Ty Gavin and Jack Webb were stared at by the men standing around playing horse shoes. They were surprised. Delta Force did not have many visitors. Their numbers were classified. The majority of their missions classified. The CIA SOG was made up mostly of Delta Force members. They were disciplined and deadly. When it came to hostage rescue on land there was no better team in the world.

There was also an unspoken rivalry between the Delta's and the Seals. Jack and Ty were not overly joyed to find out the next two recruits Connolly wanted were members of Delta Force.

"Damn. Ain't you bitches supposed to ride dirt bikes with missiles and grenades and shit attached? Where the fuck is Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin? I love that movie. Bunch of bitches is all I see around me." Ty said loudly. Jack groaned inwardly.

"Could you please shut the fuck up?" Jack practically begged.

"Just sayin hi, Jack. Tryin to be friendly." Ty explained.

"Hey frog man, what the hell are you doing here? You see any water around?" One of the men asked. He was only around 5'9 but was heavily muscled and had a full beard.

"Can you swim? I'm curious. Cause you look like you can't swim. That why they stuck your ass out in the desert? You gotta little sand in your beard, bitch. Sea, air and land. That's us. You guys stick to bein the CIA's bitches."

"Anybody know where Ian King and Matt Brody are?" Jack asked, before Ty's mouth got them jumped by fifty guys who were supposed to be on their side.

One of the men pointed to a tent on the outskirts of the site. Webb and Gavin walked inside without announcing their presence. A sweaty, thin, slightly balding man in a white shirt, beige slacks and loose blue tie walked up immediately. He may as well have been wearing a CIA ball cap.

"You are not allowed in here."

"Get the fuck out." Webb told him.

"By whose authority are you speaking?"

"By the President's authority. Get the fuck out now." Webb answered.

The man scowled but did walk out.

Webb walked outside the tent and saw the man standing outside.

"I meant out. Away. I think you hear what I am about to discuss with these men I kill you. Understand?"

The man loosened his tie a bit more and walked far away from the tent.

Webb entered the tent and offered his hand to the two men he had come to see. King was in charge and Brody was his second in command. More alpha dogs, Webb thought to himself. Maybe they would say no.

"I'm Jack Webb. This loudmouth next to me is Ty Gavin."

"That hurts Jack." Ty said with a smile.

"What can we do for you gentlemen? I'm guessing you aren't CIA. Seals?" King guessed.

"We used to be." Gavin told him.

"What are you now?" Brody asked.

"That's the question isn't it? Let me ask you two something. You like working for that asshole? For the CIA in general?" Webb asked.

"It's a living. Why?" King asked.

"You ever heard of Jason Connolly?"

That brought silence to both Delta Force soldiers. Finally King spoke.

"Yeah we heard of him." King admitted grudgingly. "A lot of operators have heard of him. It's said he's the best. I've heard the stories. You ask me the guy has a death wish."

"How would you like to work for him?" Gavin asked.

"Work for him? That what you two do?" King asked with a chuckle.

"Yep." Webb asked.

"You want us to be Seals?" Brody asked, holding in a laugh.

"Nope. Not Seals."

"Then what are you?"

"The best. Connolly has decided he wants you two." Webb told him.

"Why?" Brody asked.

"To replace two of our members who were killed last week in combat. We have the best weapons, the best tech and we answer only to Connolly who answers only to the President." Jack explained.

"Impressive. How many people you got in this unit?" King asked.

Jack looked at Ty who shook his head.

"That's classified. You decide you want in you learn everything. Things you never dreamed were possible. Enemies you didn't know existed."

"We know every terrorist group in the world." King countered.

"I'm not talking about terrorists. Some things are worse. The enemies we fight are more dangerous than…terrorists. They have killed way more humans than any terrorist group has."

"Really?" Brody smirked. "You expect us to join you based on that?"

"You think you are at the top of the ladder. You aren't. We fight nightmares. You want in you become a part of that. You will most likely die fighting these bastards. But if you want to fight the most dangerous enemies to mankind ever to exist then you come with us. I promise you I have not wasted my time coming out to this God forsaken place for nothing." Webb told him.

I'm the leader of a team of the most highly trained individuals in the world. You expect me to leave that and follow Connolly?' King asked for clarification.

"I promise you I will show you things you will not believe. Things you have never imagined but are real. You want to help save the human race? Then yeah. You are going to want to leave here with us." Webb told him.

"I went through Buds with Connolly. He doesn't risk his men unless it's absolutely necessary. He takes chances but he takes them himself mostly. You know this. You know he is the best. We all are. Get on that chopper with us." Ty said.

"Where are we heading if we do?"

"Either Utah or Galveston." Webb told King.

"Galveston?" Brody asked, surprised.

"Yeah, our underwater base." Gavin clarified.

"Holy shit." Brody said.

"You think that's something? You should see our transport jet. We have another one coming. It can hit orbit and be anywhere in the world in less than four hours. It's also armed like you wouldn't believe. It was designed at Groom." Webb told them. "That's top secret by the way."

"Groom? Yeah I've been in some of their choppers. That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence." King commented, an obvious toe of sarcasm in his voice.

"The underground area." Gavin mentioned quietly.

"Nobody goes to the underground area. It's only a rumor that it even exists." King whispered.

"We go anywhere we want. No limits. Nothing hidden. You will learn everything. The offer is for both of you but you both don't have to agree. If only one of you wants to join us that's fine. We will go to the next person. He's a Seal. I wouldn't mind paying him a visit. But Connolly wants you two. Your decision. Take all the time you need, so long as you understand our chopper leaves in ten minutes. If you aren't on it, the offer goes away and this visit never happened." Webb told them.

That said he and Gavin walked out and headed to the chopper. At eight minutes and thirty four seconds King and Brody threw their bags in the chopper and took seats.

Webb smiled.

"Welcome aboard. Read these."

He tossed a couple of classified top secret files to the men.

After ten minutes King looked up from the file. Brody was still engrossed.

"This isn't a joke?" King asked.

"Nope." Gavin answered.

King shook his head, amazed, and dove back into the file.

Gavin's phone rang. It was Connolly.

"Whats up fool? These Army brats you wanted are here. They are still coming to grips with the whole vampire thing but it doesn't look like we are going to have to kick them out." Gavin said noting the smile on Brody's face.

"Hey come out to Dugway. The President just left. Looks like we may have another team member. It's gonna be up to you guys. Then Bella and Winter make the final call."

Gavin was surprised. He was used to Connolly making decisions and sticking to them.

"This guy Army?" he asked.

"You could say that."

"How long has he been in? He an operator?"

"He's been in two hundred and thirty seven years." Connolly told him.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me."

"It's a team decision. The President approves. If nothing else he is offering a shit load of intelligence we didn't have before."

"Man … all right. We land in Israel, then we head to Utah. See you tomorrow."

"No you will see me in a few hours. Dante is flying in to a spot near where the chopper is taking you to now. Once the chopper lands there will be a hill you are going to have to cover probably about five clicks. Make it quick. I don't want our toy out more than necessary. It's dropping you two off in Utah, then heading to Groom for some enhancements."

"You mean we gonna hit orbit?"

"Yep. Get ready to become an astronaut and send me some selfies from space. See you in a couple hours. Hopefully."

"What do you mean hopefully?" Ty asked.

"I mean it has been done but …don't worry. I'm sure you will be fine. See you soon brother."

Connolly ended the call.

"Man that's fucked up." Gavin whispered.

"What's the problem?" Webb asked.

"We got a new team member probably and we are about to become astronauts."

"What kind of member?"

"The blood sucking kind. On the bright side he was a member of the US army. The Continental one."

"Jesus what a clusterfuck this is turning out to be." Webb said and laughed. King and Brody stared at the both of them.

"Did you just say something about a blood sucker who was a member of the Continental Army?" Brody asked.

"Fuck that. Did you just say we were about to be astronauts?" King asked. Gavin and Webb smiled.

"Come on guys. Don't turn into pussies on us now. Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin would be ashamed of you." Gavin told them laughing.

_One week later_

For the past week the team had trained with Garrett. They had used regular ammo and practiced combat at night. They had fought him in the light. Connolly and Garrett had sparred in the light multiple times fighting to draws each time. Garrett was impressed. Not many vampires could handle him one on one. Connolly was nearly as fast in the light and had a keen mind for hand to hand combat.

The team decided by the end of the week that the decision would be Winter's. She had spent the week in Forks, after Mina, Clive and Dante had left.

Winter enjoyed her time and she enjoyed being near Leah Clearwater very much. Leah was gorgeous and Winter had a difficult time keeping her eyes off the long legged beauty. To her surprise Leah looked at her often as well but there was always a look of conflict and confusion on her face. All Winter knew was that for the first time since her sister died she felt at peace when she was around Leah. It was hard to explain but it was there. She hadn't felt her sister's spirit all week but knew Summer was there, somewhere, watching her back from wherever she was.

Then Bella had called.

She asked about her father. Winter handed the secure phone to Charlie and the two had a quiet and emotional conversation that caused Charlie to leave the room. He came back ten minutes later, eyes red. It was obvious he had been crying.

Then Bella dropped the bomb. A vampire was at Dugway. A vampire the President wanted on the team. Finding out she would be leaving Forks and more specifically Leah and flying to a place where a vampire was sharing intelligence and training with a team she had committed to, angered Winter.

"This is fucking bullshit Bella. I should leave right now. Fuck them. What the hell are they thinking?"

"I don't know Winter. Jason promised it would be our decision. I think we should at least meet with him."

"Of course you do." Winter told her, frustrated.

"It's not like that. I can think for myself. Just because Jason and I are …it doesn't mean I always agree with him. It also doesn't mean I'm supposed to disagree with him. This guy could be an asset. I'm taking a risk to, you know."

"What? What risk are you taking? Afraid he might hypnotize you and suck your blood?"

Bella was silent for a few moments. Winter realized what she had said.

"Bella I'm sorry … I just meant…"

"Fuck you Winter. Ty got a call from that Jenks guy. For some damn reason a vampire told Jenks where he and two others were staying. The team and this new vampire are taking the three hostiles now. One of those vampires is Edward Cullen's brother. The empath. The one who attacked me over a fucking paper cut. You think I like this? But I need him and even Chris knows it. I have to practice this fucking gift of mine on a gifted vampire. That means I can't kill him. You think that's not on my mind?"

"I said I was sorry. I just don't want to leave here to meet a damn …"

"Leave there? I haven't seen my father in two years. Longer than two years. I just had to listen to him tell me how much he missed me. I heard my father cry for the first time in my life. Don't give me shit about not wanting to leave there. I would give anything to be where you are. Get on the fucking plane or I am coming to get you myself. A private plane will be waiting for you at the Port Angeles Airport. The airport isn't big and there is only one terminal for private jets. Get your ass on it and get to Dugway. See you there."

Bella hung up the phone and broke down again. Hearing her father's voice, waiting to hear from Jason, to find out if he was still alive. If any of them were still alive. How did he know if this Garrett vampire was setting the team up? He was going off a hunch. Bella decided she either had to trust him or not.

She would trust him.

As soon as the chopper landed her and Chris were inside quickly. As they lifted off from Wyoming she had a text message from Jason.

Packages secure. See you in Utah.

They did it. They captured Jasper.

It could still be a trap.

Bella shook the thought from her head. She grabbed her sword from the hard plastic black case she carried and ran her hand over the metal almost caressing it.

She would kill him if she had to. Shoot him, cut him, snap his fucking neck with her bare hands. She would do what it took to make sure she was never hurt by a Cullen again.

Bella met Winter and Jason at the landing strip at Dugway. The three stood outside saying nothing. Jason had Bella in his arms but her mind was elsewhere.

"Where is he?" she asked Jason. Jason knew who he was.

"He and his two friends are in very strong holding cells covered in UV lights and buried six floors down. He asked to speak to you when he arrived. I'll go down with you."

"No you won't." Bella told him. She had her jacket on and her sword was strapped inside.

"Winter are you ready to …" Jason began.

"Take me to him." Winter snapped. She was also wearing her black coat Mina had given her. Jason could almost feel the power radiating off the two now that they were together.

"Okay."

Jason walked both of them into the base. He took them to the elevator and stopped at sublevel 5. The team was assembled in the conference room with Garrett. Before walking out Jason asked Bella once more.

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"I'm fine. I didn't go through hell to be scared of a fucking vampire now. Go with Winter."

Jason followed Winter out the elevator and to the conference room. She walked in and her eyes went immediately to Garrett sitting at the end.

"You must be Winter." Garrett observed, smiling. Winter smiled back. She walked slowly over to him. When she was within four feet of him she threw her coat back and drew her sword, placing it against Garrett's neck. He was impressed. He never saw her move. She was as fast as a vampire at night even in daylight.

"Are you planning to kill me?" Garrett asked. His tone was more curious than fearful.

"I've been thinking about it on the way down here." Winter admitted.

"And your conclusion?" he asked.

"I haven't decided yet."

Down one floor below, Bella saw a series of cells. The row was brightly lit and she took a moment to adjust her eyes. It was quiet. Not a sound.

Of course not. Vampires didn't have heartbeats. They didn't need to breath. Why would there be any noise?

She walked softly down the hall and came to the first cell. She saw the bars were very thick steel, possibly of the same metal used in the ammo in the gun strapped to her leg. She knew the bars would hold him. He was weaker in the light. She saw his face and he smiled.

The asshole.

Bella didn't have keys to open the cell.

She pulled her sword and cut the lock with one stroke as if it wasn't there. Pulling back the door she threw her sword at the ground, the blade planting itself in the floor. Grabbing Jasper by the throat she struck him with her fist.

Hard.

Don't show your true emotions, Mina had told her. This was one time that lesson did not apply.

Jasper flew back into the wall and landed on the steel bed. Bella grabbed the handle of her katana and pulled it out of the steel floor with ease. She pressed the tip to Jasper's throat.

"You got five seconds to tell me why I shouldn't kill you."

Jasper smiled.

"It's good to see you too Bella."


	12. Chapter 12

Don't own Twilight. The original characters and plot are mine.

A/N I'm curious. How is the third person perspective working out for you all? Want to see some first person POV mixed in the story? I'll leave it up to the readers. Okay all you Whitlock lovers. The moment of truth. Do they get in or get dead? Time to find out.

Chapter 12

Jasper Whitlock did not understand how a simple katana sword sliced through a lock made of a solid metal he had never seen before. He didn't understand how the blade planted itself into the metal floor as if Bella had just thrown a garden shovel into the dirt.

He didn't understand how Bella Swan hit him in the jaw with enough force to throw him to the other side of his cell.

He did understand that he liked what he saw.

"Five seconds? That's not a lot of time to plead for one's life darlin." Jasper pointed out to the woman who now had her katana in her hand. The tip of the blade was gently touching the bottom of his chin, barely poking into his throat.

"That's more time than most of your victims have had in the past, I would imagine," she pointed out.

"You do make a fair point. Still pissed about that little incident where you cut your finger and I tried to drain you of every sweet smelling drop of blood in your hot little body?"

"You could say that." Bella admitted, her tone eerily calm after her initial outburst of anger.

"Completely understandable. On the other hand, when I caught your little act in the desert, all covered in blood and venom along with your new friends I didn't call your ex who is desperately searching for you. I didn't call anyone except the one man I figured would rat me out."

"Yeah? Why did you do that?" Bella asked, pressing the tip of her sword into Jaspers throat a bit more. Jasper backed his head up as much as he could to the wall. A part of him thought he could kill her with that sword in a second; another part was not so sure. By the look on her face he decided to play it safe.

"How else would I get to see you Bella? I've wanted to talk to you for a while. I saw you in the desert and figured you were hanging out with a whole new crowd. Since I am betting this crowd has a lot of hangouts like this one, you would have been hard to find. So instead I let them find me."

"You should be dead. If I had been there you would be."

"Told you so." A voice from one cell over called out.

"Who is that?" Bella asked.

"That's Peter. Say hi to Bella Peter."

"Hi Bella."

Bella didn't answer. She did tip her sword up, motioning for Jasper to stand up.

"With these lights you are weaker than I am." Bella pointed out with a cold glare.

"Darlin I admit I'm not as strong in this fancy artificial daylight and I can't break whatever kind of steel your government lab rats have come up with but I am still a vampire. You got a mighty sharp sword but you are still only human. Still the girl that trips over her own two feet. You still don't want none of me. You going to kill me then do it. But don't talk shit you can't back up."

"It's dark outside. You first." Bella told him. Jasper stood and walked in front of her out of the cell.

"We going somewhere?" Jasper asked, grinning.

"Can I come?" Peter asked.

"Shut up Peter!" A female voice Bella did not recognize told him.

"Sorry. I thought we agreed this was Jasper's fault?" Peter whined to her.

"You still need to shut up. I'm pissed at you too."

Ignoring the banter, Bella poked the tip of her sword into Jasper's back.

"Go to the elevator. You try anything before we get to the top and I slice you in half. Understand?" Bella asked quietly.

"Sure. Any reason why you are letting me go?"

"Letting you go? No Jasper. You attacked me. You scared me. You will find I no longer scare so easily. But still … you and I have unfinished business."

"I did help fight Victoria's army. Taught your little puppies how to fight her big bad newborns, in case you don't remember?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow as they stepped into the elevator.

"Yes. I remember when I was a slave to your brother you did your part to help keep the Cullen's family asset from being killed. Thanks for that. Still you attacked me. You gave me nightmares. You and a lot of other vampires." Bella calmly explained.

"So?" Jasper continued.

"So I want the nightmares to stop. I think I will start with you."

On sublevel 5 Winter continued pondering Garrett's fate. The lights were flickering in the room. Summer was speaking to her. It was anybody's guess what Summer was saying. At least that was Hawk's take on the situation. He believed in ghosts and had seen what Winter's sister could do. He believe Winter's talents for seeing through walls and tossing things by looking at them was actually her sister like Winter claimed. He sat back curious to see what the two came up with.

"Connolly?" Vivian's voice popped into all their coms.

"Kinda busy waitin to see if Winter is gonna kill this vampire or not Viv. I'll talk to you when the show is over." Connolly told her.

"Whatever sir. Just thought you might be interested in knowing your girlfriend just let that Jasper vampire out of his cell and the two are heading to the surface. It's also night time above ground if you were wondering. Call me when you have time. Sorry to interrupt."

Everyone looked at Connolly including Winter and Garrett.

"You really need to make a decision Winter. Kill me or let me live but someone should go up top and check on things. I recommend all of us." Garrett told her.

Winter said nothing but did close her eyes and drop her sword. With that move the team was in motion, running towards the emergency exit stairs heading to the surface.

Bella and Jasper reached the surface.

Jasper walked towards the front past the soldiers on guard duty. They found nothing strange about this. At Dugway soldiers learned not to ask questions, especially about items or people who came from the underground area.

The two strolled out onto the grounds and kept walking past the parking lot. Past the parking lot the white sands looked like a white ocean lit up by the moonlight.

They stepped onto the sand and Bella stopped. Jasper walked ten yards further and turned around.

"So what is it going to be Bella? You going to shoot me? Chop me up? How are you going to get rid of this nightmare? Because I have to tell you girl, out here in the moonlight, I'm starting to feel kinda nightmarish."

"Why are you here Jasper?" Bella asked.

"I told you. I wanted to see you."

"You haven't told me why." Bella pointed out.

"I have some things to tell you. Things about the Cullens. Things about the Volturi. I can give you all kinds of information. Same as Garrett."

"Who the fuck is Garrett?" Bella asked, momentarily forgetting about the vampire Jason and Winter had gone to meet with. Her entire focus was on the one in front of her.

Bella did however, see the team surround her and Jasper. But her eyes never left his.

"Good job Bella. You remembered. Never take your eyes off your enemy."

"Team stand bye. We all got locks? Ty?" Connolly whispered.

"I can put a bullet in one of his hillbilly ear and out the other Jay. Say the word." Ty told him peering down his scope from the roof of the barracks.

"Stay back." Mina told Connolly. "Nobody makes a move."

"Mina …"

"She knows what she is doing." Mina told him.

Connolly sighed.

"Keep target locked on but do not interfere. Stand bye."

"Sir?"

"Stand by Webb."

Mina walked up to Bella who continued to stare at Jasper. She whispered in her ear.

"Control your emotions."

Bella nodded.

"Remember your form."

Bella nodded once more.

"Takes his nuts off the first chance you get."

Bella smiled.

Mina walked back and stood by Connolly and Winter. Winter moved forward until Mina's hand stopped her.

"Leave her. She needs to do this."

"And if she can't?" Winter whispered.

"Then we kill the fucker." Mina said with a smirk.

Bella dropped her coat to the ground. She unstrapped the holster from her denim clad right leg. The moonlight lit up her blade.

She dropped it to the ground.

"How are we going to do this Jasper? The way vampires have always fought. You told me you had never lost a fight. Care to go a round with me?" Bella asked.

"That's not very sporting. If it looks like I am going to hurt you they will kill me."

"No they won't. The man in charge? He knows I will never forgive him if he or any of his men interfere. Isn't that right Jason?"

Jason looked at Mina who nodded.

"Yeah. I guess that would be right… never?"

"Never." Bella confirmed.

"Then yeah. I guess that would be right."

"Bullshit if you ask me. Why did she let him out in the first place?"

"Shut up Vivian!" Connolly shouted causing all the team to wince from the sound.

"You ready little girl?" Jasper asked.

"Yep." Bella told him, eyes locked. The two began circling each other.

"If I win, if you say stop or I kill you, me and my friends walk if we want?"

"Yep," she confirmed.

"And if you win?" Jasper asked.

"After I'm done with you my friend Winter and I are going to sub level 6 and killing your two friends. We may kill the one standing next to my boyfriend."

"I like those stakes. Playing for blood."

"Is there anything else that matters?" Bella asked.

"Not in this world. Seems it all comes down to blood at some point."

Jasper struck. He moved so quickly the team could not see him. His fist shot towards Bella's nose. Killing her would be a problem. Not killing her would be bad as well. Jasper had not expected this response from her. He hoped she could live through the beating he would have to deliver.

Jasper was surprised when his fist connected with nothing but air. A tap on his shoulder spun him around only to have a tiny fist once again knock him to the ground. This time he rose quickly and attempted a sidekick.

Bella dropped under and struck his knee with a kick. She continued with a strike to his chest as he fell.

Jasper rolled to gain space. He stood on what he knew was a knee with broken ligaments waiting to heal. He needed blood.

Jasper half expected another strike. Instead he saw Bella standing with her body at a slight angle. He noticed her posture. She was strong and fast but there was something else.

Jasper realized what it was.

Her eyes. Jasper always believed the eyes were the window to the soul. He expected her soul to be tired. He expected sadness, fear, depression, anger.

All he saw was determination. He had never seen that before in Bella's eyes.

"You are too predictable. Maria taught you to fight vampires. Vampires are predictable. They have no discipline do they? Just out of control monsters with a lust for blood." Bella told him.

"And you?"

"I just have a lust for blood. I'm in complete control. Care to try again?" Bella asked.

Jasper charged. He feinted a kick and flew into the air, his fist making contact with Bella's jaw. She rolled on her back but hopped up quickly. Jasper could smell the blood pouring from her mouth.

So she could be hurt. Her lip was bloodied and open.

He charged her before she could recover. Instead of attacking Bella fell onto her back. Jasper swung his fist towards her face only to be blocked by her forearm.

He swung again and she blocked again.

Jasper was confused when he felt her legs wrapping around his back. She wasn't attacking but she didn't appear worried. He had her. He was on top, in control. Still he could see a blood stained grin on her face.

Another strike but this one was not blocked. Instead Bella moved to the side and grabbed his forearm. He tried to jerk back but her legs were wrapped too tightly around his waist.

Jasper stood up trying to bring the woman with him. Instead her grip held him bending him at the waist while her shoulders and head stayed on the ground. Jasper heard a pop and knew his shoulder had just been dislocated. He soon found this wasn't his immediate problem. Faster than he could react, Bella's legs wrapped around his head. She twisted her body and Jasper fell to the ground, Bella at his side with a vicious grip on his arm with hers and his head with her legs.

"Good girl. Triangle choke. You teach her that in the desert?" Mina asked Connolly.

"I prefer to call it an Anaconda but yeah. She is about to snap his neck. I guess vampires don't practice Judo much," he told her ,grinning.

"I know you didn't do it to her. You let her do it to you?" Webb asked.

"Yep." Connolly told him.

"Lucky bastard. Damn that's hot." Dante piped in.

"Yeah definitely headin to the bunk after this one. Hey Winter you should join her out there." Hawk suggested.

"You're supposed to be team muscle Hawk. Don't make me walk over there and turn you into the team pussy." Winter replied.

"Fair enough." Hawk responded.

Jasper did not hear the exchanges around him. His hearing was momentarily blocked out by the pain in his shoulder and the twisting of his neck. She wouldn't be able to take his head like this but if he …

He felt the snap and nothing else. Jasper knew he was fucked.

She had broken his neck by simply twisting her waist and thighs.

"You done Jasper?" Bella asked and then spit blood in his face. They were very close.

"Yes. You won. I can't move."

"Say it louder!"

"You fucking won!" Jasper yelled.

"How does my blood smell now? I told you vampires were predictable. One style. That's it. You have to adapt. That's the problem with never aging. You never have to learn to adapt."

"I think you've proven your point." Can you let me go? I can't move. You snapped my fucking neck." Jasper pointed out.

"So? That makes you less dangerous?"

"Until he can heal he won't have any feeling in his body Bella." Garrett offered.

"Shut up or you are next." Bella told him in return.

"I sort of want to be." Garrett admitted. Connolly glared at him.

"Just because Winter hasn't killed you yet doesn't mean I won't. Watch it." he warned Garrett.

Bella released her grip and rolled to her feet quickly. Her hand reached out and her katana flew through the night air. It reached her hands where she caught it, continuing the downward swing.

The team held their breath, expecting a quick beheading. Jasper was already on the ground. His head wouldn't fall.

Bella's stroke ended at Jasper's hairline

"What's wrong darlin? No southern accent or cocky fucking grin now?" she asked, her blade barely touching the flesh on his neck.

"Fresh out I'm afraid." Jasper whispered.

"Good. No more bullshit. You know I can kill you. I can do it with my hands, I can do it with a gun and I can do it with this shiny pretty sword in my hands. But I want to know something. No games. Your friend's lives depend on it. Why did you come looking for me? Really?"

"My friend, my brother down there. The only real friend I have ever had, he … he gets feelings sometimes. It's a gift of his. He told me it ran in the family when he was human. He gets hunches. His hunches, they are about 99% accurate."

"And he had a hunch to find me, huh?" Bella asked.

"No. He had a feeling. A deep dark feeling that something bad was going down soon. He knew Aro would be involved. That's it. But he knew it was more than the Volturi taking out the Cullens. It would be real bad. End of the world bad."

"What does that have to do with me?" Bella asked, suddenly very intrigued. Her eyes caught Chris's eyes and she noted the interest.

"Aro wanted you. He wants you. He must need you for some reason. If the end of the world was coming I figured you would be in the middle of it. So I followed one of my own hunches. I acted like I was looking for you for Carlisle. I wanted to find you for myself. I knew you would be the key. I suppose my belief in Peter's hunches have led me to believe in fate.

When I saw you and your friends in the desert I knew I was right. You were more than human."

"I am human. My heart beats. I hurt. I bleed. I'm just a little stronger than you now. Not a fucking monster."

"I just wanted to make sure me and my friends were on the right side. Way I see it, the world is going to come down to choosin sides. I'd like to be on the right one."

"Then perhaps you should have asked more politely." Bella raised her sword back up and prepared to cut his head off.

Until she saw the team around her falling to their knees. Her eyes went immediately to Connolly and Winter. They looked relaxed. Way to relaxed.

Bella knew what Jasper was doing but she didn't know why. They would wake once he was dead.

"Stop it."

"Sadness, lethargy. All emotions. I can make anyone or any group feel this way. The question is can you stop it?"

Bella gazed at the family around her and reached out with her mind. She could feel what Jasper was doing to those around her.

Her mind connected with Jason and Winter. They stood and shook their heads as if coming out of a fog.

"How many more can you save?" Jasper asked.

Bella peered around her and connected to Webb. He shook his head and pointed his rifle at the vampire on the ground, not amused by his games.

"What about the sniper on top of the building?" Jasper whispered.

Bella saw Ty was not peering through his scope anymore. Instead he was snoring. She tried to reach out to him but the strain was too much.

"Yeah. You're a shield. You can protect others from the Jane and Alecs of the world. But not everybody. Not yet. A gift is like a muscle Bella. You have to use it to make it stronger. You need someone gifted to practice with. You know this. You still need me."

"I can find enough vampires to practice on that I can kill." Bella pointed out.

"Yeah I suppose you can. Look I admit I should have not acted like a jerk. It's pretty much got me here laying on the ground like a kids doll. I admit I have made mistakes in my life. I fought for Maria. I turned and killed people who didn't deserve that. I attacked you. I fell in love with Alice. I have made some pretty fucking bad decisions in my life. But I have also stood with you. I saved you from James and I helped protect you from that newborn army and it sure as hell wasn't for Edward or Carlisle."

Bella said nothing. She noted the team were all standing and had surrounded her, guns at the ready, aimed at Jasper's head.

"Even if you decide to kill me please don't hurt my friends. I got them into this. They don't deserve it. Garrett knows them. He can tell you. They aren't bad people."

"They aren't people." Bella whispered.

"Yeah. We all were once and then we became vampires. But at heart we are all people. All of us Bella. I said my peace. Kill me if you want to."

Jasper closed his eyes and waited. The loss of feeling in his body gave him a sense of weightlessness leading to a sense of peace.

He waited for death.

Instead he felt his head tossed up. Opening his eyes he saw his body being held up by Garrett. Garrett twisted Jasper's neck back so the vertebrae were roughly aligned. He then bit his own wrist and held it to Jasper's mouth.

After a minute Garrett pulled his wrist away and laid Jasper on the ground. Ten minutes later sensations returned to Jasper's body.

"They are letting Charlotte and Peter out of their cells and showing them to rooms. Let me take you to yours. The humans need their sleep." Garrett informed him.

"She is going to let us stay?" Jasper asked, now noticing the team was gone.

"Yes. And if you fuck us over I'm fucked as well. I like it here. You better be on the level Jasper."

"You know me Garrett. I'm not Carlisle. What you see is what you get. I say I'm with you then I'm with you."

Garrett nodded.

"Come with me. The cowboy wants to speak to you and Peter about this feeling Peter has." Garrett told him.

"Cowboy? Which one?"

"The older one. Chris is his name. I believe he also wants to talk to you about helping with Bella's gift. Hurry along."

On sub level 3, Connolly showed Bella to her quarters. When she walked in she noticed his gear and clothes were here as well.

"I thought you were showing me my bunk, not yours." Bella said, teasing him.

"One and the same darling. I missed you. You didn't really think I was going to sleep without you, did you?"

"What about professional conduct and all that …?"

"All that shit? Hell like Jack says this is the most professional, unprofessional team ever put together. Can't keep a secret here in our little family. May as well drop the pretenses. If you want your own room I'll take you to one and sleep on the floor by your bedside. But I'm not going to be away from you anymore than I have to. I missed you."

"Right here is fine. I don't want to be away from you either." Bella raised herself up and gently kissed Jason.

Then she jerked back from the sting caused by the cut on her lip.

"Yeah we probably need to get that looked at. Let me show you to our spacious bathroom and I can tend to it. You are healing pretty quick. Maybe we will out your blade under the mattress and you can be healed by morning."

"I wish. It took two weeks for my knuckles to heal up completely after Coronado."

"True. That's all right. It's just a busted lip. Your may have a bit of a cut on the inside of your cheek. You did good. You scared the fuck out of me but you did good."

Bella didn't ask Jason if he knew why she had to do it alone. That was what she loved about him. He already knew why.

"I think I'm going to be a giant bruise in the morning. That fucker hits hard. Blocking his blows from the guard position wasn't easy," Bella admitted.

"Yeah but damn did you sucker him in and then close the trap. I'll admit it got me … a bit excited."

"That right?" Bella grinned and placed her hand on the bulge quickly growing in Connolly's jeans. She began rubbing him through the denim of his jeans. Jason's hand shot between her legs and squeezed.

"Two can play at that game. I've waited a week for you. I had to watch you use moves I taught you to take down a vampire at night. Can I please get you naked in bed already?"

"Yeah. Better take care of my lip first though." Bella reminded him.

"Naked first. Lip second. Besides I kinda like the look. It's hot."

"Blood usually is." Bella admitted and ripped his jeans opened. The two attacked each other, ripping clothes off as they stumbled back onto the bed.

Connolly was under her but not for long. They both screamed when he thrust inside her. The yelling, groaning and moaning lasted for the next two hours.

To the agitation of Hawk who supposed Bella didn't realize and Connolly didn't care that the air vents of all the rooms were connected.

Winter did her best to drown out the sounds as well. She was nearly asleep when her phone lit up.

It was Leah.

"Hey. Everything okay? Cullens around?"

"Hey Win. No Cullens. Just wanted … I mean you said I could call you at any time. If it's late where you are I can…"

"No! No it's not late. I mean it is but from the sound of it I won't be getting to sleep any time soon." Winter admitted listening to the screams of pleasure Bella was letting out.

"So what's up in Forks?" Winter asked.

"I just needed to talk to you. I… I'm not gay."

"Okay. I never said you were. Come to think of it I never said I was. What the hell is going on Leah?"

"You aren't gay?"

"No I am. I just don't remember telling you that. I liked being around you but I don't expect anything. Did I weird you out? It's the hair right? Too short? Or maybe … I don't know. Whatever I did, I didn't mean to make your uncomfortable." Winter told her, a bit disappointed but not surprised.

"No, you don't understand. How are you doing? Because I'm not doing so well. When can you come back? I want … to hang out."

"Leah You know what I do. You want the truth? I miss you. I haven't felt myself since I left Forks. But this is my life."

"How soon can you come back? Can I come to you? Just for a little while?"

"Uh …believe it or not this place is turning into vampire central. I can't explain over the phone."

"Are you okay?!"

"Of course I'm okay Leah." Winter chuckled, secretly happy with Leah's reaction. Bella was her friend but she had never had anyone besides Chris interested in her safety. Bella and Mina expected Winter to be in danger with them. The entire team did. Leah was worried.

"Leah can I ask why you are so concerned? Like you said you aren't gay and we only have known each other for a week. Why do we feel so …" Winter couldn't explain it without scaring Leah away.

"Connected?" Leah asked.

"Leah are you feeling some sort of attraction to me that is making you uncomfortable? Because I don't understand what is going on with us." Winter asked. Fuck it. Like with Mina she felt life was too short. May as well get to the heart of the matter.

"Winter just try to get back as soon as you can. I've got some things to explain to you. An explanation for what this is. I think. I mean I can't explain it because …"

"You're not gay." Winter finished.

"No. But I think you are beautiful. Be careful. Call me tomorrow. Please?"

"Yeah. Yeah I can do that Leah." Winter said quietly stunned at Leah's statement. Beautiful? Winter had never seen a more beautiful woman than Leah Clearwater.

The call ended and Winter lay down on her back.

She closed her eyes and smiled. The noise from Connolly and Bella's room no longer bothered her. She was in her own world and didn't even notice.

The next morning the team now including four vampires sat in a larger conference room and watched video feed of Volturi castle.

"So you want to take them out?" Jasper asked for the third time.

"Yep. Especially if this lead vampire has something to do with your friend's feelin." Connolly confirmed for him.

Again.

"Yeah but you want to take them out in one assault. You can't do it." Jasper told them.

"Why the hell not?" Webb asked.

"Tell him Garrett." Peter said.

"The Volturi castle goes very deep. Almost as many levels and rooms underground as this place. There are multiple escape points. Many, many gifted vampires who would simply hunker down and wait for your men. The narrowness of the tunnels and corridors would make using UV lights difficult and place your team in an awkward position. Plus the Volturi are disciplined. Much more disciplined than Maria's army. They are the closest thing to a military force the vampire world has. You go in there and it will be suicide. Sure you could blow the outer walls but that is mostly for show. You will have to overwhelm them with men and I'm not sure how many casualties it would cause. Perhaps hundreds."

"Great." Connolly whispered.

"Or Bella and I go in and slice them to pieces." Winter suggested.

"No you won't. You aren't invincible. This isn't some fucking video game where you put in a cheat code and go into god mode. We have lost enough." Hawk told her. "We go in as a team."

That brought silence to the room. It was probably the most meaningful thing Hawk had said since the team had been together.

"What's on your mind hillbilly?" Ty asked, noticing the frown on Jasper's face.

"Could you rewind video of the last two months of surveillance on the castle and leave the image on the screen. Say at one hundred times speed in reverse?"

"Why? You can't… Oh. I guess you can see it can't you?" Connolly asked. He nodded to Clive who took the remote and began the surveillance back. Ten minutes later it was over.

"Something is wrong with this picture." Charlotte observed. Jasper felt it too.

"Wrong? What is right about it? You see how many people have gone in there and not come out? How the hell do these fuckers get away with it? What do they do with the bodies?" Dante asked. That was when the vampires in the room understood what was missing.

"Where the hell was the smoke?" Garrett asked no one in particular.

"Explain?" Bella requested/ordered.

"The Volturi feed weekly. They do not keep human pets. They bring in groups and slaughter them. As long as I can remember you could always tell the Volturi had just fed if you saw smoke rising from a vent on the north side of the castle. Great billowing smoke from their furnace. It was where they burned the bodies." Peter said.

"So what?" Jack asked.

"So what the fuck are they doing with the bodies if they aren't burning them?" Connolly answered him. Bella and Winter met Chris's eyes. They had to find out. The three just knew it. It was important.

"No two ways about it. We need inside that castle." King observed.

"Yeah but I don't really like the suicide part of suicide mission. We gotta be tricky about this." Ty noted. "What about it LT? You know all about tricky."

"We can't go in because they will burrow in like ticks and not come out, slaughtering us in choke points." Connolly said, more to himself. "So if we can't get into the castle with the Volturi in it, then we need to pull them out. We need to kill them somewhere else."

"They would never leave the security of that palace without a good reason. When they go out on missions, they go out in groups of four or five always leaving the majority to defend the castle." Garrett pointed out.

"Right. Unless it was really important. If we baited them into coming out we could pick them off at a time and place of our choosing and not theirs. We could also have our own back up. We could pull a San Jacinto. Lead them by the nose and cut it off. After that we can lead an actual tour of the castle if we wanted. Go over it with every forensic tool we have. Find out where those bodies are."

"What kind of bait do you think would make Aro that stupid?" Charlotte asked.

The room quieted quickly as everyone realized the answer.

"That would be me." Bella said quietly.

"What do you think Bella? Your call." Jason told her.

"Hell yes we are going to do it. Better yet we can use the Cullens and then take them out at the same time. I just have to show back up on the radar. They will be there in a second, Especially if Jasper calls and lets them know. Right Jasper?"

"Right Bella. But how are you going to get the Cullens to help you lure the Volturi to Forks?"

"Who the fuck said we were going to ask them? We only need one. I'm assuming you don't give a fuck about your wife since you are with us so you shouldn't have a problem if we just start killing till one of them gets smart and decides to cooperate." Jason pointed out. Jasper looked at the other three vampires.

"It could work." Garrett said quietly.

"Hell yes it could work. Bella shows up, Cullens show up. We make one of them call Aro and taunt him. Start shit and let them know where Bella is. Aro would bring his army. At least his most powerful vampires. If he only sends a few we dust them until he decides to attack in force." Winter said, seeing the plan come together in her head. "And the wolves will help. We set them up and knock them down. I'm not sure what the hell San Jacinto is but it could work."

"You sure about this Bella?" Connolly asked, ignoring Winter's obvious ignorance on Texas and US military history.

"Yep. I think it's time you met my Dad, Jason." Bella told him, smiling at the thought of seeing Charlie once again with a genuine human she loved.

"Judging by the sounds from the air vents that conversation should have happened a while back." Webb dryly observed. Bella did not comment but her cheeks did turn a bright shade of red.

Connolly decided now would be a good time to end the meeting.

"Great. It's settled. Let's pack up. Time for me to meet the Dad."

And also introduce himself to Edward Cullen.


	13. Chapter 13

Don't own Twilight. The original characters and plot are mine.

A/N Okay just few random things. The website is getting put together. I will have the address pretty soon. It will be public in about two weeks. I'm pretty excited about it. It will have my fanfics on it an the new original stories I plan on writing. I have had a few PMs asking that I continue to write supernatural stories. I promise all my original ideas for my OCs revolve around the supernatural in some form or fashion. It won't be much different than what I am doing now. You can also see some things I have written before that aren't Twilight related. The site is going to be a Ning site and that means members can have a user name be in chat and post their own stories if they want. I don't care who posts there. I'm hoping it can be used by people who have wanted to try writing before but didn't want to put it on FFN for whatever reason. I am also going to be able to add pics of my settings for stories and such.

Speaking of other sites I mentioned Bella Macleod's site was featuring Atonement as the feature story for this month. I sent them the story and they edited it. Those of you who have been around me for a while can understand the work editing my stuff takes. So thanks Bella and crew. Check out her site if you get a chance. No sign up needed. It has some great Twilight fanfiction and I love the way she set up Atonement. It has three or four chapters on one page and in my opinion is very easy on the eyes to read.

Okay before I write another chapter of this story I will write a chapter of Chasing Bella, probably start tomorrow. Chasing Bella has quite a bit of family drama and such and writing about guns and swords and smart ass special forces teams are much more fun. But I will get to work tomorrow on it.

Piece of advice. Never watch Underworld: Awakening and then follow it up with Breaking Dawn 2. I watched for two hours while Selene's 12 year old half vampire, half lycan blue demon daughter killed lycans along with her mother and the ending where her daughter drained the blood from a lycan boss and told him it was better if he didn't fight it while Selene tore open a giant Lycan's abdomen and placed a grenade inside while he healed over the wound, blowing him into a bloody mess. So after that was over I looked at the channel guide and saw BD2 and thought why the hell not. I turned it on and saw Nessie catching a snowflake and Bella telling her it was as unique as she was. I turned it off. Unique? No unique is a half vampire half lycan wolf that can turn from sweet little innocent girl to a monster in a second and give out great one liners while killing bad guys. Still upset they haven't continued that series when it was getting interesting with the humans involved. I may have to correct that. If I ever do another fan fiction it may have to be that. I would like to try out another fandom one day and Selene is one of my favorite movie heroines ever.

Never mind. Just saw Underworld 5 is being made and Kate Beckinsale will not be in it. It's going to suck.

Also props to MysticPixie279 who watched the Perfect Getaway and got to see the inspiration for Jason Connolly. Good job Pix ;)

Okay, on with the story and keep the reviews coming. They make writing worth it.

_La Push Washington_

"Are you sure they said they were showing up tonight?" Jake asked Sam. The entire wolf pack was present. Word had been passed. Bella was coming to La Push along with her new friends.

The excitement Leah showed was causing everyone to feel optimistic. She had not phased since she and Seth had been staying with Charlie but everyone noticed a change had come over her. No one knew exactly why. Jake had mentioned it casually to Seth who shrugged his shoulders and made no comment.

"I received a call from the British guy this morning. He told me to find a large clearing where two large aircraft could land. He said they were sort of like helicopters but larger. It needed to be remote but have access to a logging road within 3 miles so a small base camp could be built and hidden by tall trees in the borders of La Push. Once I found the spot send him the GPS coordinates. That's what I did. I called him and he said to expect them tonight around 9. That's all I know." Sam explained.

"Well I don't see any aircraft or hear any. Maybe they decided to wait until daylight. I don't even know if they can land a helicopter at night here with the trees and … holy shit what is that?" Jake asked.

Everyone looked up and saw two sets of what looked like three small circular lights. The lights were getting larger as if the circles were falling straight down.

The dark gave way to the lights as the objects came down quickly. Sam prepared to order his pack to run but he doubted anything short of an Alpha order would make them do so. He was too mesmerized to move himself.

Everyone stood motionless as the lights suddenly stopped about a hundred feet above their heads. It was then the pack could make out that the lights were not independent objects but belonged to two very large objects.

"Holy fuck, they have UFOs." Quil whispered.

The two black craft were hard to make out in the dark even for the wolves. They didn't make a sound. They would be impossible for a human to see were it not for the lights. It appeared one was towards the point of the triangular craft and the other two were mounted under the wing section of the craft on either side.

The silence by the night was destroyed by the very loud sound of Sweet Home Alabama blaring from one of the aircraft.

The crafts began to descend and the pack moved. The two landed side by side barely making a sound. Not even and engine could be heard running.

The backs of the crafts opened and men in black rushed out, rifles ready. Then three women walked out.

One woman was immediately recognized despite the changes in her appearance. One woman that Jake and Sam were sorely afraid they would never see again. She was dressed like all the others and looked very different. Her hair was darker and not as full, hanging straight, just past her shoulders. She was leaner and stood straighter. She moved without looking at the ground.

She was smiling.

Her smooth steady walk didn't last long. Seeing Jake and Sam staring at her from a distance was too much and she ran to them. Sam got to her first and Bella jumped into his arms that wrapped around her. He let her down fighting back his own tears and Bella saw Jake. His sunny smile she had missed so much was planted on his face. He opened his arms and Bella stepped inside them, accepting his hug and returning it.

"Bella, you look … amazing." Sam said. Jake said nothing but did wipe a tear from his eye. The pack surrounded her and soon she was surrounded by warm bodies hugging her. The only one who wasn't near Bella was Leah who had locked eyes with Winter.

Winter smiled and tried to look away. She didn't have the chance. Leah walked up and wrapped her arms around her, pulling their bodies closely. None of the pack noticed, the focus being on Bella.

"I missed you." Leah told her quietly.

"I was gone a week," Winter laughed, trying to make light of the situation but secretly glad that the feelings she thought she picked up from Leah on the phone only seemed to intensify in person. Winter also admitted she felt better here. That feeling of something being wrong ended the moment her feet touched the ground. She swore she could almost feel Leah's presence the closer she got.

"We have to talk. Can you get away in the morning? I need to talk to you alone. First Beach? I can text you directions. Where are you guys going to be staying tonight? You can come to my Mom's house. Seth and I have to go back to Charlie's but she wouldn't mind. Or you could come to Charlie's …"

Winter laughed.

"Leah chill out. I'm going to be here for a while. Yes I can meet you at First Beach tomorrow." Winter whispered to her.

Meanwhile Bella was finally released from the hot arms around her. No one commented but everyone who she hugged noted she was much, much stronger. The story Mina had told Sam and Jake must be true.

The music stopped blaring from the sound system of one the Aurora, piloted by Dante Youngblood and silence returned. The pack stepped back and Sam smiled.

"There is one more guy that's waiting to hug you Bella." Sam pointed to a tree where Charlie Swan stood.

"Dad? I thought I wouldn't see you until morning?' Bella asked, shocked to see her father out in the middle of the forest at night in the misty rain.

"You think after two years I would stay away?" he asked, his voice cracking. The closer he got the better Bella could see him. His eyes were puffy and red. The moisture on his face was not all mist. He had been crying.

He was still crying.

Bella ran to him, careful not to knock him down when she reached him. He wrapped her in his arms and felt his daughter for the first time in two years. Two years where he worried every day that he would never see her again. Worried about where she was and how she was surviving in hiding. Worried whether Edward Cullen or the Volturi would find her.

To find out what she had been through from Winter broke Charlie's heart but gave him hope. She was alive and she was no longer hiding. Then he found out today that she would be here tonight. He agreed to ride on Jake's back to get here while he was phased, due to the difficulty in reaching this place especially at night. That in itself was unnerving. Now to hold his daughter in his arms once again …

"So are we all happiness and joy? Good. I like to see happy people. Makes me feel warm all over. Call me sentimental."

Charlie and Bella turned towards the ship where Dante Youngblood and Ty Gavin exited. Behind them was the man who had just spoke.

While the soldiers around him were difficult to see in their black clothing this man was easy to make out. He wore a white t shirt and blue jeans over brown leather cowboy boots. He also had a straw cowboy hat on his head that looked like it had seen better days. As the man walked closer to Charlie he could make out words on the man's t shirt. He expected the words to be Navy or Army or Marine Corps.

_I am not illegal_ was written across the shirt. What the hell was this about?

"Noticed the t shirt did you? A Hispanic friend of mine I served with came from El Paso. He gave it to me as a joke. He said it was his lucky shirt. Sorry we are late. Brody hasn't flown since he got out of flight school when he first joined the Army. He had a lot to catch up on in the past few days and let's just say those of us with Dante were glad we weren't with Brody. Still he got his half of the team here alive. I'm Lt. Commander Jason Connolly and this is my team. Not all of them are here. The others …well let's just say they are of a supernatural variety that would not be welcome on this land without forewarning. They will be here in the next few days."

"Supernatural variety?"

"Vampires." Connolly told him causing silence.

"I thought you … your team killed vampires?" Charlie asked.

"We do. They help." he explained calmly.

"Vampires are murdering bastards." Charlie said with venom in his voice.

"No argument here, but I have four who are my murdering bastards. My goal is to take out the Volturi and Cullens and any other coven I can find. Having counter intelligence is important. I need them and have decided they are genuine in their desire to help. That means they are my crew. If the devil himself popped up and wanted to help me take out the Volturi I would accept it. The mission is all that matters. You can understand that, can't you Chief?" Connolly asked.

"Yeah … I guess I can." Charlie admitted feeling a little shell shocked.

"So if you are the commander why aren't you dressed like your team?" he asked, trying to regain his bearings.

"I can answer that Pops." The large black man said, walking up.

"Who the hell …who are you?"

"I'm Ty Gavin. We as a team voted and decided LT here could dress civilian since we thought there might be a chance you might be here tonight."

"Why does that matter?' Charlie asked, more confused.

"Dad, Jason is my …boyfriend." Bella explained. She did not look at Jake when she said it.

"I … can you some closer please?" Charlie asked Connolly.

Connolly stepped closer. He was only slightly taller than Charlie and looked the man in his eyes. He recognized Bella's eyes.

"You uh …you don't turn into …anything right?"

"Not unless you count me turning into a hell of a singer when I'm in the shower. I can sing classic rock like you wouldn't believe. I truly believe if God didn't put me on this Earth to kill people I would have been a rock star. Country star at least."

"_You _aren't a vampire right?" Charlie asked, peering closely at Jason's eyes.

"Dad!" Bella shouted.

Charlie dropped his head.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you are …uh …not that I have anything against these guys." Charlie motioned toward the pack. "I mean they are family to me. But I know there are other things out there and I just wanted to make sure you …I'm sorry."

"It's okay Dad. I understand." Bella told him. She couldn't be too irritated. She had made some bad decisions in her romantic life.

"So you're not then? I mean you are …normal?"

For the first team since landing the entire team broke into laughter.

"That's fucking first. Connolly being called normal." One very large man said.

"Shut it Hawk. Yeah. I'm just a normal, everyday average guy Chief." Jason assured him.

"That's good. I mean …"

"I am also the best killer in the world. These assholes don't like to admit it. Especially the lady who met with Sam. Isn't that right Mina?"

"I shot you." A female voice said from the circle of soldiers surprising the hell out of Charlie. Sam had told him he was contacted by a woman and two men. Charlie had no idea she was actually a member of the team though.

"Yeah and I threw your ass out the window." Connolly countered.

"Let's not talk about that little encounter ever again, okay?" Bella suggested.

"I don't even know what you are talking about darlin."

"That's better." Bella told him with a smile and patted his cheek.

"Chief Swan I would love to get to know you better and I promise you we will have time. Why don't you get caught up with your little girl and your niece over there can go with you. Just do me a favor and stay the night in La push all right? I don't like my team to be in vampire territory without back up and I don't want anyone in Forks to know Bella is back just yet. I need to get our base here set up and hide our airpower. We will probably be working through the night. How about we all get together for breakfast and I will let you grill me on every facet of my life?" Jason suggested.

"Okay. That okay with you Bella?" Charlie asked, taking her hand and trying to pull her away only to stop when he realized he couldn't make her budge. She had gotten a lot stronger.

"Actually Dad why don't you go to Sam's and Winter and I will be over there in a few hours. We have to help. This is our team so we all have to do our part." Bella told him. She wanted to go but she had a job to do first. Once the Cullens and Volturi were dead she could spend weeks with her father. Right now she had a base camp to set up.

"Okay. Just come over as soon as you can okay?" Charlie half asked and half begged.

"I will Dad."

"Come on Charlie. I will take you back." Jake told him. Even in the dark, Bella could see Charlie pale a bit. Jake hugged Bella once more.

"Okay. Just… take it slower this time?" Charlie asked quietly.

"No problem Chief. Bella I will see you soon?" Jake asked. Bella did not miss the look he gave Jason. She looked up at Jason who winked at Jake.

"Not a problem Chief Black. We will be done in a couple hours and you and your pack can have her for a little while."

Leah had been listening to the exchange with Winter near her. Leah fought the urge to hold her hand. Instead she whispered in her ear.

"Looks like I don't have to go to Charlie's tonight. Want to stay the night in La Push with my Mom? We could catch up or something?"

"I would but I really need to stay near Bella. She is my partner. We like to stick close together in case one of us needs the other. Especially after what happened to Su … my sister."

"I understand." Leah told her disappointed.

"But I will be there first thing in the morning. I promise. Text me directions to her house and we can walk to the beach together." Winter said, hoping to lessen the disappointment in Leah's voice.

"Sounds good." Leah said, hiding her disappointment as best she could.

Charlie hugged Bella one last time and walked away with Jake. The rest of the Pack stayed.

"I wasn't aware that vampires were part of your team." Sam told Connolly.

"Yeah it was part of a compromise we had to make with a priest so he would help us find some secret archives in Rome belonging to the Vatican, that we have to break into. When he came three others were captured by us and have proven useful. So we figured fuck it, you know what I mean? I mean if Bella and Winter didn't care, they had the most reason to hate vampires. Besides Bella took one out in hand to hand combat by her lonesome so they pretty much know they can't take us. Like I told Charlie, I will do whatever it takes to complete the mission."

"I'm sorry, did you say secret archives in Rome?" Paul asked from nowhere.

"Yeah, apparently one of these vampires has feelings he gets about trouble. Plus we got a cowboy shaman named Chris who can travel to the other side … I'm talking about ghosts of course, that other side, who runs a school for special children with weird powers. Anyway he is the one who was given these swords that Bella and Winter carry. He found Winter and her sister. I guess you know Winter's sister was killed by one of the Volturi. Anyway he is concerned about some Japanese demons who are possibly trying to break into this world with a lot of lost souls. Bad people, you know what I mean? People who are so bitter not even hell can suck their souls in. So these demons are pounding on these seven gates. We have no idea why or what happens if they destroy these gates. We really don't want to find out. However first we have to find out why the Volturi is keeping the bodies of the people they feed from. We aren't exactly sure they are but we want to find out one way or another. So first things first, we have to kill the Volturi. Then we can investigate the castle and find out what is going on in that place. See if it has any connections to the demons trying to break into this plane of existence and pretty much run over the world of the living. It's a lot to do and we don't have much time. " Connolly explained.

Silence filled the clearing.

"Ya'll get all that or you need me to go over it again?" Jason asked.

"No … I think, strangely, that what you just said makes as much sense as anything else in this world." Sam admitted.

"Did you say a school with children who have weird powers?" Quil asked.

"Yep." Ty answered.

"So he is like a cowboy version of Professor X?"

"Yes! What is your name son?" Connolly asked.

"Quil sir!" Quil told him smiling broadly.

"Any man that knows the X Men is my kind of guy. You are going to be my liaison to the pack if it's okay with Sam of course." Jason told him.

"Sweet! Do I get to wear a black uniform?" he asked.

"No." four voices of the black clad men told him at the same time.

"Quil why don't you stay quiet? I don't think we need a liaison since we will all be working together. We will have to talk about these vampires being on our land. It is forbidden." Sam told him.

"By who?" Jason asked.

"We …you see …"

"You worked with the Cullen's to kill the newborn army right?" Ty asked.

"Yes …"

"Well this army we are about to fight is a lot stronger than newborns. At least more deadly and more numerous. Besides one of the vampires you know. Jasper Hale?" Jason asked.

"He is a Cullen!" Sam nearly yelled. The pack became very tense quickly.

"Yeah but his wife is fucking Edward Cullen so we are pretty sure where his loyalty lies. Besides he helped train you guys to fight the newborns." Connolly pointed out.

"We watched and learned quite a bit about vampires." Sam said cautiously, digesting Edward Cullen …fucking any female.

"Great! You can learn more." Connolly told him. " Now I really need to get these guys workin on the camp. I want it set up and camouflaged before sun up and Bella probably needs to spend some time with her Dad so … thanks for the spot. It looks good."

"Do you need help?" Sam asked.

"Like I said Sam, I'll take help from anyone interested in killing my enemies. You guys want to pitch in Ty can show you some heavy shit that needs to be unloaded. I'm going to need you guys Sam. I'm not your enemy and I want us to get along. We can all meet as a group tomorrow and I will give you all a more detailed account of everything I explained tonight. So, we got a deal?" Jason asked, sticking out his hand.

Sam looked at it and nodded, taking his hand.

"We will stand with you."

"Great! Just remember how well the US government and Native Americans worked together in the French and Indian war and forget about everything else. We will pretend the vampires are French." Connolly told him winking.

"That's not what happened. The British fought the French and the Indians. The US didn't even exist at the time." Sam said.

"Yeah I know. I was hoping you didn't though. Don't worry. We are going to make the world a safer place together."

Sam laughed despite himself. He liked the man in front of him. It was easy to see why Bella was drawn to him. Sam was very glad Jake was in a relationship and hoped he had moved on from the idea of a romantic relationship with Bella.

"I believe we are Jason. I sense that you and your team are good people." Sam told him honestly.

"We aren't Sam. We are bad people. That's okay though. The world needs bad people to keep the evil people at bay. Team let's move. We have a forwarding base to set up!"

With that word the team began to move. The wolves stood still.

"Come on wolf dudes. We got heavy stuff to move and we usually only let Winter, Bella and Hawk lift that shit. They will be grateful for the help." Ty said.

The wolves followed Ty into the interior of the Aurora.

"Holy shit." Quil whispered as the pack took in the interior. "It is a UFO."

"Nah it's an Aurora. Now that's it been identified you can't call it that anymore. This one's name is Suzy." Ty explained.

"What do you call the other one?" Jared asked.

"Beyonce. Webb got to name this one. Dante named the other one."

"After the singer?" Paul asked.

"No after Beyonce Divine. Pretty popular porn star. If you spent as much time in foreign deserts as we do you would understand. Don't judge." Ty told him and began pointing out crates that needed to be moved. Bella walked up to a wall and pulled out a large crate longer than she was and walked out with it over her shoulder. Winter did the same.

"Yeah those chicks got some muscle." Ty agreed, in response to the looks on the wolves faces.

Leah was fascinated by Winter. She moved with such grace but was obviously very strong. Winter had explained this to Leah but she realized a part of her didn't actually believe it.

She quickly grabbed a crate and the wolves followed.

With their help the camp was set up by midnight. Computers had been set up and Sam was shocked to see the detailed satellite images of La Push even in the dark. Clive, King, Brody and Dante took up guard duty and the rest of the team went to sleep for the next four hours with the exception of Bella and Winter who ran into La Push, handling the terrain with ease in the dark and surprising the hell out of the pack that ran beside them. They had swords pulled from a black case strapped to their backs. The swords. The ones the pack had been told about.

Sam had to admit since he phased he didn't believe anything would surprise him anymore. He was wrong. Seeing Bella running gracefully through a forest at night surprised the hell out of him. Leah refused to phase and ran beside Winter in human form. Sam wondered what that was about but didn't bring it up. He didn't want to push. For the first time in a week she was in a good mood. If she wanted to run with the girls he wouldn't stop her.

When Bella and Winter arrived at Sam's house, Emily was there to greet Bella at the door.

"There is a face I thought I would never see again." Emily told her, eyes glistening. "You've changed."

"Yeah got a new toy." Bella told her smiling and tilting her head to the sword on her back.

"No. I heard about that. What I'm talking about is something else. I can tell you are different."

"New haircut?" Bella tried.

"No. It's your eyes." Emily whispered.

"What about them?" Bella asked, bracing for the response.

"This is the first time I have ever seen that much confidence in them. Also you look happy. Not like when Edward returned. You don't seem drugged or dazed anymore. Your eyes are clear and they are beautiful."

Bella felt a blush on her face. She thought she was beyond that. Emily always could read her like a book.

"Where is Dad?" Bella asked her while hugging her old best friend.

"On our couch sitting up. He refused to sleep until you returned. He fell asleep sitting up. I guess it has been a long day for him. I told him I would wake him when you got here but he refused. Maybe you can wake him and talk him into one of the extra bedrooms. You and your friend will have to take the other one."

Bella walked in and saw Charlie was sleeping soundly at the end of the couch with his arm slung over the back of the couch.

Bella unstrapped her sword and sat next to him. Rather than wake him she curled up into his side and closed her eyes. Charlie's arm dropped over her shoulders and she snuggled closer into him.

She thought it would be strange not to sleep with Jason tonight but found she didn't mind this once. Being in her father's arms was more than enough after not seeing him for so long. She planned to be in her mother's arms as well once the Volturi were dead. It was with that thought that she drifted off to sleep.

Emily and Sam smiled at the reunited father and daughter and quietly showed Winter to her room. Winter walked in and undressed, climbing under the sheets. This bed was too comfortable she told herself. That was why she couldn't sleep.

No. It was Leah. She had just said goodbye to her and had to watch her walk away to go to her mother's house. She had hoped they would have more time tonight. Instead it seemed someone was always nearby.

She would be alone with her in the morning. She had that to look forward to.

A feeling of peace swept over her suddenly and she turned into her pillow and dreamed. She dreamed of wolves and a beautiful Indian woman, not knowing that woman in her wolf form slept outside the window of Sam's house. Leah too felt peace for the first time and slept deeply. Just being near Winter was enough for Leah.

For now.

The next morning Bella and Charlie awoke at the same time. Charlie smiled, surprised to find his daughter in his arms. She smiled as well.

Kissing him on the cheek, she walked off to take a shower. It was 6 AM.

A knock on the door.

Charlie looked around and realized everyone else must be sleeping. He walked slowly to the door and opened it to find Jason Connolly. He didn't have his cowboy hat on this morning. Instead faded blue jeans covered his combat boots and he wore a sleeveless blue Metallica concert shirt. Charlie noted that he had a nasty scar on the right shoulder and a tattoo of the Seal's emblem on his left. He also had a small barely noticeable scar on the left side of his neck.

"Mornin Charlie. Is it okay if I call you Charlie?"

"Yeah …uh you are Connolly right? I know you told me last night but with everything going on …"

"No sir. You got it right. You can call me Jason. Bella around?"

"She is in the shower." Charlie told him.

"Great. I could use one myself." Jason told him, stepping inside. Charlie's hand stopped him.

"I was just kiddin Charlie."

"There are some things a man doesn't joke about with a father." Charlie told him. Connolly looked at him and grinned.

"Charlie you gotta have a sense of humor to get though crazy ass shit like this life. But you are right. I won't say a word about anything your daughter and I may have done or will do. I've never really had a girlfriend before so I'm kind of new at the whole meeting the father thing. I apologize."

Charlie let out a breath and gave a small smile.

"Why don't you come in and we can see if we can find us some coffee."

"Sounds like a plan."

After making a pot of coffee Charlie poured two cups not bothering to ask if Jason wanted cream or sugar. He had an idea that the man drank it black.

"So tell me about yourself Jason." Charlie instructed.

"What would you like to know Charlie? I'm an open book. I mean considering you know most of the top, top secrets in the government I suppose I can pretty much answer anything you want to know."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Galveston Texas."

That explained the accent.

"That's where your base is now right?"

"About three miles off the coast underwater but yeah, pretty close."

"I see. Your parents still live there?"

Charlie immediately regretted asking. It was brief but he saw a shot of pain cross Connolly's eyes. He was trained at reading faces. This man's face was a bright sunny smile that hid a killer underneath but the façade broke for a second.

"No, they died when I was four. I had a couple of foster families. The last family really took me in and gave me a direction in life. I joined the Marines as soon as I graduated high school. Went into Force Recon where I worked for five years. Became a Seal and took some online classes while out in the field. Got my degree and became an officer. Worked my way up and was given a Seal team to run. Ran some missions, and got called to the White House after one of my closer calls and was told I would be fighting vampires by the President and to pick a team of the best operators in the world. I did. I lost two men in Mexico and recruited two more. But we got a long ways to go. Right now we are a small international team. I got a British SAS soldier and I believe you heard about the Israeli spy I have on the team. She is actually quite the assassin and very good at what she does."

"This would be the one who shot you?" Charlie asked.

Jason took a sip of coffee.

"Complete misunderstanding."

"How many times have you been shot?" Charlie asked, fascinated and wanting to know more. He knew Jason had brushed over a lot of details in his story.

"Uh …hell I don't know. I guess the most serious shot I took was in the neck. I kept fighting and probably would have bled out if Ty hadn't knocked my ass down and carried me out. I guess with the calf shot on the last mission and the chest shot I took because of shitty body armor, plus a few more, I would say probably five, maybe six times. Most of them weren't serious. That's not counting the body armor shots I have taken. That's been a shit load unfortunately. You ever been shot in the vest Charlie? Feels like you got kicked by a fucking horse."

"I see." Charlie said, looking at him in a different light. He was more than a killer. He was a survivor. A warrior.

"Yeah I'm kinda hard to kill. Also got stabbed eight times. Never in a one on one knife fight though. Still when you are in the Middle East, well those bastards are sneaky and like to gang up on you. I also got a pretty mean scar on the top and down the back of my shoulder from a vampire's hand in Mexico. Bella stitched it herself. Mina talked her through it."

"Bella hates blood." Charlie pointed out then realized how ignorant that statement was considering a vampire had been sucking her blood under his nose for two years. He was still angry about that but his anger was directed at himself and only him.

"Bella can handle a lot. She already has. Her and Winter sliced through half the army we killed in Mexico. She is one tough lady."

"Were you serious last night when you said you were the best killer in the world?" Charlie asked.

"Yes I was. Course it's hard to verify something like that when you take into account vampires who have been around for a thousand years but I know when I am told to kill something or someone I do it. Haven't failed so far."

"What about after you get out of the military? Any plans?"

"Plans? What do you mean when I get out?" Jason asked, confused.

"I mean you can't keep getting shot and stabbed forever. Eventually you are going to want to do something else. Right?"

"Honestly Charlie in this life you don't look past the next mission. You never take a day for granted and you try not to look too far ahead. It makes you lose focus and makes you sloppy. Sloppy gets you dead."

"And now Bella is in that life." Charlie said more to himself.

"I'll protect her." Jason told him.

"She sliced through half a Mexican vampire army with Winter. How can you protect her from that?"

Connolly took a moment.

"You are right. I can't sit here and promise to protect her. I can promise I will never leave her behind. If she goes I go right by her side and I don't plan on dying."

"Nobody ever does." Charlie observed.

"True. Very true. But I'm not just anybody. You are just gonna have to trust me Charlie. I won't put her in a situation, her or Winter, if I think they can't handle it. I just haven't come across anything they can't handle yet."

Charlie finished his cup and rose to pour another. He topped off Jason's cup.

"So you got a degree. What kind of degree?"

"I have a Bachelor of arts in philosophy." Connolly told him.

"What the hell do you do with a degree in philosophy?"

"Kill people mostly." Jason told him honestly, causing Charlie to laugh.

"I had to have a degree to be an officer. It seemed like the easiest route. I admit it does give me some great one liners when I am in a fight. Much better than the cheesy action flick shit that Stallone and Arnold throw out. I can quote Aristotle with the best of them."

"I see." Charlie said continuing to drink his coffee to stop from laughing.

"Seriously I don't know what I want to do after the military. I never really had a reason to think about it before I met Bella."

"I can understand that. So how long have you and Bella been romantically involved?" Charlie asked.

"I thought we weren't supposed to talk about that?" Jason asked for clarification.

"I don't mean … I meant … never mind." Charlie finished, now blushing himself. Jason bailed him out.

"I met her when all this shit started and fell in love with her the first time I saw her. It just got more intense after that. I guess you could say while we were together for a couple weeks in Death Valley and it was just the two of us we kinda let our feelings be known."

"Death Valley? You took my daughter to Death Valley?"

"For training purposes only." Connolly clarified.

"So you if you were there for training how did you two come to … let your feelings be known?"

"Well it kinda came to a head when I shaved her legs with my knife and then when I refused to hit her in hand to hand combat she got pissed and I had to admit to her that I couldn't do it on account of loving her. It sort of escalated from there."

"Did you say you shaved her legs with a knife?" Charlie asked.

"You brought it up. But honestly it was completely innocent. I couldn't let her do it. She was barely learning to use that sword of hers. She would have cut off her leg with my knife." Jason quickly explained.

"So … innocent? So you two aren't …intimate?"

"Oh no Charlie we are. It just didn't happen then. Since it has happened we have been intimate every chance we get sometimes two or three times a day. We got intimate on the Aurora the other day. Almost got walked in on by Brody. Funny story we …" Connolly stopped when he saw Charlie's face.

"Hey you brought up the whole intimacy thing. Don't ask questions you don't want answers to. I told you I am new at this but I'm an honest guy. You ask me if I'm having sex with your daughter then I'm going to tell you."

Charlie dropped his head and nodded.

"Yeah I kinda asked for that one. So what do you do for fun?"

"Pretty much just …"

"Kill people?" Charlie guessed.

"Damn Charlie. See I knew you would understand me. I knew it when Bella told me about you. Trust me Charlie, I'm your kind of guy. We both want the same things in this world. To kill the fuckers that want your daughter. I do like to hunt and fish, when I get the chance."

"Really? What do you like to hunt?"

"Pretty much any animal that can fight back. I prefer to use a bow or machete. Makes it more sporting in my opinion than just shootin one between the eyes from a thousand yards away."

Charlie laughed.

"A thousand yards? That's a good one."

His laughter stopped when he saw Jason wasn't laughing.

"You doubt I can shoot a target in the bulls eye from a thousand yards away? Set up the shot anywhere you want. Pace it out yourself. I got a case of the best Tequila you will ever lay your lips on that I can put three in the middle with three bullets. I'll even let you spot for me."

"Spot? No that's alright. I uh, I don't doubt you." Charlie told him, afraid of what he would have to pay if he lost the bet. Something told him he would.

"That's too bad Chief. I was lookin forward to the challenge." Jason told him with a wink.

"Still I'd like to see it. I don't know about animals that can fight back. I don't think you can kill a bear with a bow or a knife…"

"Sure I can. I killed a lion in the Congo with only my K Bar. Course that fucker got sloppy. He probably was making plans on how he was going to use his philosophy degree after he got tired of hunting me. See what I mean Charlie?"

"Yeah I guess I do."

"You want to go bow hunting for a bear? Let me know after the Volturi are dead. I'll take you."

"I'm a pretty fair hunter myself but I prefer a rifle."

"We can do that too."

"You got a deal Jason."

Bella arrived in the kitchen and walked over to give Charlie a hug. She kissed Jason on the cheek and then yawned.

"So what is the plan for today Commander?" Bella asked, with amusement.

"Today we all meet and go over everything with the wolves and Chief Black. Then you, me and Winter are going to arrive at Charlie's. Jasper calls Carlisle and tells him you are back. Then we wait."

"Wait for what?" Charlie asked. "For the Cullen's to show up? Did you say Jasper? Jasper Hale? He is one of your vampires?"

"Yep."

"You are okay with this Bella? How can the two of you trust him?"

"I broke his neck once Dad. If he betrays us I will take his head and he knows it. I don't think he will. Edward is fucking his wife and I get the feeling he isn't happy about it."

Charlie was shocked at Bella's language and shocked that Edward fucked girls. He wasn't sure which one surprised him more. When he was told by Sam that Edward never tried anything physical with Bella besides drinking from her he assumed Edward was probably gay.

In the light he took his daughter in more closely. She had grown up in the years she had been gone. She was no longer the shy, timid girl he knew before.

She was still his baby though.

"Yeah I plan to use the Cullens to spring a trap on the Volturi here." Jason explained.

"And after?" Charlie asked.

"I plan to kill them too." Jason said smiling. "Maybe a few before just to get the point across about how serious I am."

"And Edward?" he asked Connolly

It was his baby girl that answered.

"He is mine Dad. No one kills him but me. He had my blood for two years. It's time I had his."


	14. Chapter 14

Don't own Twilight. All the original characters and plot are mine.

A/N Okay, the website. It is ready. In a couple of weeks you will be able to google betterintexasfiction and it will pop up. Its an ning site but a very simple one. I like things simple. When you go to the page it will ask you to give an email address, and I think a date of birth. Why a date of birth? Because the site makes you put an age restriction even if it is set for a one year old. I know, why? I have no idea. I don't even care if you put your actual birthdate on it. But if you don't and I send you a happy birthday email don't think I'm an idiot. That's on you. After you put those two things in, the front page will tell you where to find the stories. Why ning? Because it connects to facebook and twitter and some other shit I've never heard of but my daughter and wife think it is important that we have it. It also has a chat room and each member gets their own page to keep up with what stories you want to read and can personalize it and so forth. This is also important according to the wife and daughter. So once it is in Google I will post a chapter of my original story I am working on. It's a Connolly and Ty story. My Israeli spy will also be in it and it does involve the supernatural. Who is ready for some Connolly and Ty slash!

I'm just kidding. But you should have seen the look on Ty's face when I wrote that ;)

The supernatural will be the supernatural I want to write about. Translated to no sparkly marble vampires. Another great thing about ning is it sends out updates to your email when a story has been updated kinda like this site. Is it as easy as this site? I've never ran across anything as easy as this site. But the bright side is once you sign in you can post stories if you want. Anything. I don't care. Okay there are some things I do care about not seeing there but I know none of my readers would post crap like that. More updates the closer we get to it. It is actually up and running right now but since I haven't posted anything yet there isn't much point in signing up.

Some of you have asked me in PMs for a link to Bella Macleods site. I can't give it to you because anytime you put a link or anything resembling a web address even in PMs ffn deletes it from the message. My advice would be to Google her name and fanfiction. It shows her writers address here and then her webpage is the next result. Check it out. Cool stuff there. Or just type in her name on the address bar with a net past the dot. See if that can get past Big Brother.

Next thing. The last chapter didn't have any action and this one doesn't have much in the way of vampire killings and such. These chapters of this story are about 3000 words more than my average chapter in any other story and I still didn't get half of what I wanted to in this chapter. But next chapter we are kicking some vampires asses. Think Edward Cullen, Charlie Swan and a shotgun, Rose and Alice versus Winter and Bella and an Aurora landing on Edward Cullen's car as he tries to escape. So keep those reviews coming. The more I get the faster I write. I got this one and the next, then back to Chasing Bella. That's a weird story. It's a Jake Bella story but not necessarily a pairing. It might be. Last chapter had Bella's dead husband beating Jake up in the spirit world and Ty explaining how a misunderstanding with Houston Police led him to Wyoming on the run and under Chris Jenning's tutelage. Reading that I realize how stupid it sounds but trust me it's better than it sounds. I hope. Anyway it will be on here after this story is posted. This story really has little to do with the Cullens and more to do with Aro and his boss. I see it reaching 30 to 35 chapters and will involve places all over the world. Some pretty spooky places and some pretty fun ones. We also have the romance portion. Maybe it's the third person point of view that is making these chapters so large. After the next chapter we still have to catch up with Chris and the good Father, looking for the secrets of the library of Alexandria protected by the Catholic Church.

Okay I've talked enough. On with the story.

Chapter 14

Winter and Leah walked along First Beach while Jason and Bella visited with Charlie, Sam and Emily.

Winter had been nervous and excited when she woke this morning. However, after the initial smile and good morning she received from Leah, nothing had been said. Winter waited her out. Leah had asked her here. She obviously had something to say.

After five more minutes of walking and trying to ignore the awkward lack of conversation, Winter decided to break the silence.

"I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful beach. You must really love it here."

Leah stopped walking and sat on the sand, crossing her legs under her, staring out at the waves.

"Leah? Are you okay? If you want I can go. You just look really uncomfortable and honestly I'm not sure what is going on. You asked me here and now you won't talk. I haven't tried to do anything to you but you are kind of making me feel awkward right now."

"Sit? Please?" Leah asked, looking up at Winter.

Winter took a deep breath and sat on the ground next to Leah, curling her knees to her chin.

"What do you know about … did Bella ever mention imprinting?"

"Yeah … she told me what happened between you, Sam and Emily. I was sorry to hear that."

"Figures she couldn't keep her mouth shut."

"We have no secrets from each other." Winter told Leah quickly and became defensive instantly.

"Yeah? You two are sword buddies or something so she is attached to your hip or what? I mean are you her bodyguard? You will have to stand in line. She attracts people who want to protect her like a moth to a flame."

"I'm her friend. I was her … you know growing up in Phoenix was a bitch. My sister and I lived with some pretty shitty families. The one we stuck with? They were big on getting checks for us from the government but they weren't big on spending the money on either of us. They were more interested in drugs and alcohol. We were skinny, poor orphans in a school of two thousand kids, 99% of whom had a much better life than we did. They let us know about it too. Only one person was brave enough to be our friend. Bella. The first time I met her was after a guy knocked my tray down at lunch and she helped me clean it up. Then she shared her lunch with me. She hung out with us even though we were targeted all the time by evil fucking bitches who felt better about themselves by tearing us down. She stood up for us. You don't know her."

"Maybe you don't know her anymore." Leah told her.

"Why? Because she got caught up in a vampire's shit? That's her fault? She broke away. She did that. You should have seen the shithole I found her in. Outside of my sister she is the only person I trust completely in this world. You don't know who she was in Phoenix and you don't know who she was after she left here. You only saw the girl who was a victim. I got news for you, she isn't a victim any longer. If you brought me out here to talk shit about her you can go to hell."

Winter stood up until Leah grabbed her arm.

"I'm sorry. I'm nervous. I shouldn't have said that. I guess when I get nervous I kind of act like a bitch and she has always been an easy target."

"She isn't an easy target anymore." Winter told her.

"Please stay?"

Winter took a deep breath and sat back down.

"So what are you so fucking nervous about? I'm getting very tired of your games Leah."

"I'm not playing games."

"Really? You call to tell me you aren't gay even though I never asked, and then end the call by telling me I'm beautiful? That's not a fucking game?"

"Look would you please just shut up and listen?"

"You know I carry a big fucking sword right?" Winter asked.

Leah ignored the comment and looked back at the ocean.

"I imprinted on you. The first time I met your eyes I knew. It took me by surprise but I knew what it was. I had seen it in the minds of the other imprinted wolves. It's why I was going crazy not being near you. Have you had any problems in the past week?"

Winter sat in shocked silence. After a minute she admitted she had.

"I felt more restless than normal if that is what you mean."

"Felt like you were having trouble breathing even though you weren't?" Leah asked.

"Yeah …"

"Yeah."

"But … you and Sam … you aren't gay. You said so."

"Yes. I'm confused. Imprinting is supposed to be a gift from the spirits to show the wolf their perfect match. It has for the other imprinted couples. I even can admit now that all my jealousy over Sam is gone, that he and Emily are a great fit. Emily is everything I wasn't. Perfect home maker, supportive. I … could never have been that. It isn't in my nature."

"But you aren't gay."

"I've never been attracted to a woman before I saw you."

"Holy shit." Winter whispered.

"Yeah."

Then it hit her.

"Bella said a wolf is whatever an imprint needs. That's why Quil is like an uncle to that little girl right?"

"Yeah. What's your point?"

Winter felt a dread come over her. She wanted to ignore it but couldn't.

"I needed a lover. I need a lover. I've wanted someone for so long to be … and then my sister died and I have felt so lonely. Even with Bella here we have been so busy training and fighting vampires and drug cartels and … this is my fault."

"What is your fault?"

"If I didn't need a lover you wouldn't be attracted to me. That's why you are having these feelings now. You want to be whatever I need. If I didn't need a lover, you wouldn't want me."

"That's not true. I do want you! Do you … do you want me?"

"I did. But now … I don't know if I want this for you. I want you but not like this. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I had in my mind that maybe when you met me you discovered something in yourself. We could maybe hang out, be friends, get to know each other naturally after all this vampire bullshit is done. Maybe fall in love at some point. But don't you get it Leah? How can you be happy with this? This imprinting thing decided you had to be what I wanted so you had to be attracted to me because that was what I wanted! How can you be okay with this?"

"That is not what this is about! You don't understand … I thought you wanted this?"

"Not like this. I have to go. I'm sorry this happened to you Leah."

"Please don't leave." Leah begged.

"Don't you get it? When I was younger I was convinced I was in love with Bella. I was only 14 but I knew … she knew everything about me. I knew everything about her. We had been friends for years. She was my best friend. I had her and my sister. Bella was the first person I ever told I was gay and then I tried to kiss her! I thought I could convince her she loved me. She did, but not like that. But if she was a wolf and imprinted on me, she would have been whatever I wanted."

"That's not true."

"Yes Leah, it is. You don't deserve that. I have a friend, mentor …I told you about Chris. If anyone can break this he can. If not he can find out who can. He can probably talk to this Taha guy Bella told me about in person. I will get you out of this Leah."

"I don't want out!"

"You don't know what you want! You think Quil wanted to be an uncle to a toddler he didn't know? You think Sam really wanted to leave you? He and Emily fought over it and her face was ripped off! It's fucking brainwashing and I won't let it happen to you, because I would care about you with or without this damn imprint. I will talk to Chris. I'm sorry this happened to you."

Winter turned and ran before Leah could say another word.

Neither girl saw the tears in each other's eyes.

Bella sat with Charlie and Sam in Sam's kitchen catching them up on her life since she left Forks in the middle of the night. Charlie fought back tears as well, hiding behind a smile as Bella laughed about her living arrangements in the desert. He wanted to cry. Scream. Hit something.

He wanted to kill Edward Cullen. Bella had already staked that claim though. While the three talked Jason charmed Emily while the two cooked side by side. He was making an egg casserole recipe he had picked up in Hong Kong and asked her once if she had any fresh octopus around. The look of shock on her face passed quickly when he grinned.

Still he kept an ear on what was going on at the table. He knew how Charlie must be feeling. Sam as well to some degree. It was easy to see he was protective of Bella.

Sam had no idea Bella didn't need protection anymore. Still he supposed once you take someone's wellbeing into your hands, it can be hard to let go.

The conversations were interrupted by Mina. She walked in unannounced. Even Sam seemed surprised by her presence. Jason guessed Sam had been so engrossed in Bella's stories that he missed the sound of her entering his home. He hoped Sam was better at hearing vampires.

"Bella we need to talk."

"Okay. Do you want to have some breakfast?"

"No, we need to talk. It won't take long." Mina said smiling.

Emily was tense. She did not trust this woman. She could sense the darkness surrounding her. She was wild and had no reservations about life or death. The British soldier she met was charming. She could tell he was dangerous but also a professional. This woman was a professional as well but she was not a soldier. A killer yes, but not a soldier. Sam had explained that Mina was an Israeli spy. Emily knew there was more to it though. This was a woman who would assess who she needed around her and have no reservations about killing the rest.

"About what?" Bella asked.

"Training issues. Please follow me."

Mina walked out with the quiet room, Bella watching her as she left. Bella looked at Connolly.

"Don't look at me. You are her protégé. Next time you pick a mentor maybe pick one who isn't an assassin. Just sayin."

Bella shot the finger at Jason and walked outside. She could see Mina in the tree line waiting on her. She didn't look happy.

"What is going on?" Bella asked, walking to her. Mina motioned with her finger for Bella to be quiet and follow her.

They hiked for five minutes into the woods.

"Mina where the fuck are you taking me?"

"Where we can't be heard. Vivian are any wolves around?"

"No. You know I have to sleep sometimes right? I can't just stay holed up here 24/7."

"When we are on a mission you can. Bella and I will be out of com for ten minutes. If something happens text me."

"Yes ma'am, sir." Vivian replied.

Turning off her earpiece she looked at Bella.

"Where is your com device?"

"At Sam's on the counter."

"That is dumb. What if something happens and you need help? What if I need help and you can't hear me? That annoying earring is all of our life lines. It is more important than your gun. You can call in airpower and a multitude of guns with it. Without it we are without you and you are without us. Don't leave it behind."

"You kind of rushed me out!" Bella told her, becoming angry. "Are you PMSing or what? I didn't hike out here to get bitched out."

"Too damn bad. That is exactly what is going to happen. Your situational awareness sucks. You are too comfortable here. Just because you are back at your favorite Indian reservation doesn't mean you forget who you are now."

"What do you mean my situational awareness sucks?"

"Last night when we exited the craft. Do you still want Jacob Black?"

"No! I'm not even sure I did when I was here. Jake helped me. He was my best friend. If not for him I would probably be a vampire now."

"He loves you. Did you see his face when you told your Dad you were in a relationship with Connolly?"

"No. I was …"

"Avoiding it. Like I said your situational awareness sucks. It isn't just about using drones to look for temperature signatures and high speed objects in the vicinity of an LZ. It's not all about figuring out where the nearest weapons, prevalent threats and escape points are when you walk into a restaurant. It's also about people. How the hell can you tell what those around you are thinking if you don't look at them?"

"I did look at him." Bella said defensively.

"When you first landed. But not at the most important part of the entire exchange. He loves you. You did manage to accidentally catch the look he gave Connolly."

"Yeah …"

"Do you love him? Jason?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to see him hurt because of a jealous old friend of yours?"

"You think Jake would hurt him? Jake isn't like that."

"All men are when it comes to women they are passionate about. He will hurt Jason. But Jason will kill him. You need to take control of this situation. You need to talk about this situation with Jake and make sure he understands what he is and is not. I know from your face last night you are hoping to avoid it because you don't like conflict with those you love but it's for the best."

"You … Jake wouldn't do that and Jason can't kill a wolf … can he?"

"As much as I hate to admit this, the man can kill anything. He was cooking breakfast and had a knife and two handguns capable of killing vampires on him, and no one in that room besides you knew. Bella you must have a talk with Jake."

"Okay."

"No avoiding it. It needs to happen today. You and Winter are going to Forks this afternoon. When you arrive at Charlie's the countdown begins. It could be a matter of minutes or days until the enemy descends. We can't afford to have any distractions. You can handle this. You will handle this."

"Okay." Bella said, taking a deep breath.

"The next time we land somewhere look at the people there. Read their faces. Every person on the team did last night except you and Winter."

"Okay! I get it."

"Jake has a girlfriend. I saw her for those three days I was here once or twice. He isn't really into her. I suspect he began seeing her in an attempt to get over you."

"She might be his imprint. I haven't had time to talk to him." Bella said, secretly relieved that Jake had imprinted and feeling sorry for him knowing how he felt about the idea of imprinting.

"No. I watched Sam and Emily and that Jared boy and his airhead girlfriend. I know what an imprint looks like and I know what a rebound girlfriend looks like. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Bella asked with a sigh.

"Because I have situational awareness. I look at everyone and read faces. You need to do the same. I taught you to do this. I don't like repeating lessons Bella."

"Back off okay? What the hell is your problem?"

Mina at least smiled a bit.

"Sorry. I hate it here. It's wet and boring and I am anxious to kill these fuckers and move on. I have no idea how long this is going to take and I'm irritated. Perhaps La Push may grow on me like fungus seems to constantly grow on these trees. This is just a bad place for us. I don't like it. Mexico was a good place for us. Not here. Do you know why?"

"Because the constant cloud cover will make vampires stronger and the dense forest will make chasing them and tracking them with the Auroras more difficult. We also can't use drones in the forest. If it come to a fight we will have to rely on cover and camouflage to defeat an enemy that is stronger than us and can jump to the tops of trees in a minute. Trees the majority of the team, outside of Winter and myself, would have to climb. Not even the wolves are effective in the trees. A vampire could run across La Push using tree branches and jump into the ocean and not one wolf could stop him if the vampire had half a brain."

Mina stared at Bella in shock.

"You know all this but you won't look at the faces of the people around you?"

"I've been spending a lot of time around Jason." Bella said, smirking.

"Under him at least. Okay, you also need to talk to your friend Winter. She has some issues going on. She will probably be upset today. Or happy. I'm not sure yet. But of all the fucked up things that this mission did not need an imprint has to be at the top of the list."

"An imprint?" Bella asked her, confused.

"Yes. I told you I had watched imprinted wolves, studied their interactions. Leah Clearwater imprinted on Winter when we visited the first time. It must have been when Winter stayed with your Dad for that week."

"How do you know?"

"Because I have excellent …"

"Situational awareness." Bella finished for her.

"See? You can learn. The bigger question is how did you not notice? She is your best friend and you didn't notice. It was all the guys could talk about at camp. Leah and Winter were practically holding hands last night while you were having your emotional reunion. I swear Edward Cullen could have killed you with your own sword last night. Letting your guard down can be a good thing in certain places. Places we know are safe. In the dark surrounded by people who are not us, is not a good place."

"That pack is like family to me."

"Sam and Jacob are like family to you. Leah can't stand you. The Paul guy can't decide if he wants to fuck you or kill you. The rest of the men stare at your ass. I never had a brother but I am guessing if I did he wouldn't stare at my ass. How is that family looking now?"

Bella ignored her question. She was right.

"So you think Winter will be upset? How do you know Leah will even tell her?"

"Leah begged her to go to the beach this morning. What do you think she wanted to do? Stare at the pretty waves or hunt seashells by the seashore?"

"Okay. Why do you think she will be upset?"

"Look at it from her point of view. Wouldn't you be if you thought someone was forced to love you, especially someone who was not gay previous to the imprint? Bella you can be so smart at times and ignorant at others. I need you smart all the time. We are females in an arena that has been reserved for men since the dawn of time. I'm not a soldier but I am here now so the three of us have to stick together. Plus if Tyrone Gavin notices two girls giving smoldering glances at each other you should be ashamed that you didn't."

"Got it. Don't let my guard down. Pay attention."

"Bella you aren't the only one in danger, coming here."

"I know. The team is as well as the wolf pack."

"We can take care of ourselves and so can they. Your father is here. Be alert at all times. Now follow me. I will walk you to Sam's. Do you know why?"

"Because I don't have my com device and I need you to be my lifeline until I do?"

"See, there is my smart woman. Now let's move. You have to break a friend's heart and console another before we have a team meeting and then I'm sure your boyfriend will want us to train to get used to the terrain. I swear I should have killed him. It's his fault I'm here."

That said Mina walked off. Bella slowly walked behind her.

She remembered Mina telling her she would say things to her that she would not like to hear. Bella supposed that was the first of many ass chewings she would receive from the woman.

Still she was right. Bella had been hoping to avoid the Jacob situation. Hoping it would go away. Just like the vampire problem though things like this don't go away. They have to be dealt with head on.

When Bella walked in to Sam's she went directly to her room and grabbed her com. She placed the device in her right ear. When she walked into the kitchen Jason noticed and smiled.

Bella sat down and listened to Charlie talk about how great the food was. Bella barely listened. Mina was right. It was going to be a long day.

"Hey Bella? Winter came in while you were out bonding with Mina in the woods. I was going to offer breakfast but she was crying and walked straight to the bedroom." Jason told her.

"Did you check on her? Ask her what's wrong?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?" Bella practically screamed at him.

"I checked to make sure she wasn't running from anyone. She wasn't. I was prepared to lay down cover fire for her while she retreated. I am not getting involved with a crying woman I'm not in a relationship with."

"God you can be an insensitive asshole." Bella whispered, frustrated that Mina's prediction had come true so soon.

"That remark hurt. Shouldn't that show you how sensitive I am? Let's face it Bella. What could I have possibly said that wouldn't make it worse?"

"I don't know, how about what's wrong Winter?!"

"I suppose that would have been a good opening tactic but what if she actually told me? Besides you know it has something to do with Leah."

"Leah?" Sam and Charlie both asked.

"You knew right Bella?" Jason asked. "I mean you had to have seen it last night."

"Yeah … I knew. Uhh… I will go talk to her."

"What about Leah?" Sam asked. Before Bella could stop him Jason answered.

"You are the Alpha and you didn't know? Leah imprinted on Winter. Least that is what it looked like to me from what I have read and heard about imprinting. Nobody knew?"

The silence confirmed the fact that nobody did know.

"I swear I am the only one who pays attention to anything." Jason mumbled and took another bite of bacon. "Hey Bells do you think you could have Winter squared away and then go have a talk with Jake before the meeting at 2?"

" What … what do you want me to talk to Jake about?"

"The simple fact that if he looks at me again like he did last night I am going to shove a knife into his eye socket." Jason said casually and then took a bite of toast.

"Yeah … uh… I was just going to do that. I'll see to Winter." Bella said quietly.

"Thanks darlin. Love you."

Bella walked quietly down the hall, dreading the conversation that was about to take place. She didn't bother knocking on the door. Even out here, she could hear Winter's quiet sobbing.

"Hey you. What's going on?" Bella asked, sitting on the bed and brushing a strand of hair off of Winter's face. She was curled onto the bed on her side. Bella had not seen her cry since they were 14. So much had happened since then to both of them.

"You remember what you told me about imprinting? How much you hated the idea and how it basically made slaves out of the wolves to their imprints whether they liked it or not?"

"I don't think I said exactly that, did I?"

"Yep. Exact words." Winter confirmed.

"Oh." Bella said quietly, wishing she would have kept that opinion to herself.

"Just because I said it doesn't mean it's true. Look at Sam and Emily. They are in love. It wasn't easy for them but they made it work."

"Leah imprinted on me."

"I know."

"You knew?!" Winter practically screamed, looking up at Bella.

"No! I mean I was told this morning by Mina. She noticed last night. Hell Ty noticed. I'm sure everyone knows and Hawk is in his bunk as we speak. She told me while you were on the beach, she was bitching me out in the forest for not noticing. That and a few other things."

"God she has a great body but she can be such a bitch."

"Leah has just had to deal with a lot of stuff. She is our age and …" Bella tried to explain.

"I was talking about Mina." Winter clarified.

"Oh."

"I don't know what I am going to do Bella. She wouldn't care for me if this hadn't happened. I'm supposed to take advantage of that? She wants me to take advantage of that! She is too brainwashed to know what is happening to her."

"Leah right?" Bella asked to be certain of who they were talking about.

"Yes Bella. Leah."

"What does your heart tell you?"

"My heart? My heart is … who gives a fuck what my heart tells me?"

"I do. Maybe we should call Chris."

"Yeah. He can break this imprint."

"I meant maybe he could give us some advice on how to deal with this. Maybe it shouldn't be broken."

"How can you say that? You hate imprinting."

"I …"

"It's no different than what Edward did to you. The only difference is I'm the vampire and didn't realize it."

"Winter shut up. You told me before that I felt sorry for myself too often. You are doing a hell of an impression of the old me."

"Go to hell. You wouldn't understand."

"I understand more than you can imagine. I have been around these guys. I will tell you one thing and you can decide what you want to do. But make a decision. Quickly."

"What are you going to tell me I don't already know?"

"The imprint is the center of the universe to the wolf. She is everything to them. But the imprints? They aren't linked to a wolf like that. They are not slaves to the wolves. Honestly I was wrtong when I said the wolves were slaves to the women. Sort of wrong anyway. Despite this, Emily and Kim love Sam and Jared. Sam told me Paul imprinted on Jake's sister and they seem to be getting along. Maybe imprinting is just a way to push the pack member to where they are supposed to be. I mean they don't have a lot of time to date in the traditional sense."

"Paul imprinted? The guy who can't seem to decide if he wants to fuck you or kill you?"

"Did you talk to Mina today?" Bella asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I realize I was kind of focusing on Leah last night but I did look around. Half those guys were staring at your ass. I mean Mina talks about this all the time. Reading faces, noticing what others notice. I mean you caught those expressions and glances last night. Right?"

"Yeah of course. I just didn't want to bring it up. You never know who might be listening." Bella lied.

"You going to talk to Jake before Connolly kills him? We need the wolves in this battle Bella. Killing the beta and the son of the chief of the tribe would not be a show of good faith."

"Jason isn't going to …"

Bella stopped at the look on Winter's face.

"Yeah I'm going to talk to him. But that isn't the point. The point is that maybe imprinting is just speeding things along. I mean let's face it, Leah could have imprinted on a guy if he was her perfect match. Since she didn't maybe there were some things that she didn't want to face about herself. Do you remember how scared you were when you told Summer you were gay?"

"Yeah. I made you stay with me while I did."

"Maybe Leah was bi sexual. Maybe she is gay and didn't want to admit it. Sure she had Sam but no one before or since. Maybe the reason Sam didn't imprint on her was because some fucking spirit knew that she would never be truly happy with him. I'm just saying, you shouldn't just run from this. Leah isn't brainwashed. She is too stubborn for that. She knows what happened. She could have pretended to be a friend and just stayed near you. She went out on a limb this morning. By the way, how did you handle it? I'm guessing not very well by your appearance."

"I told her I didn't want her like this. I wanted her naturally."

"There is nothing natural about our lives. I mean look at us Winter. We are strong and fast. You can move things with your mind and see through walls. You think it's your sisters ghost! The crazy thing is I believe you. I can block vampires gifts. We have these swords that can slice through anything. What the fuck is natural about our lives?"

"I don't know. I just don't want to feel I am forcing her into anything she doesn't want."

"She came to you. You didn't push her into anything. You told me to stop being a coward once. It's time for you to do the same. Go find her. Talk to her. I promise you she is not brainwashed by anything. Just consider that maybe it's meant to be and don't run away from the first person who wants to have sex with you that isn't an assassin."

Bella stood and walked to the door.

"Where are you going? We need ice cream." Winter pleaded.

"No, you need to go find your wolf and straighten this out instead of freaking out and feeling sorry for yourself. Me? I have to go have a talk with Jake. We aren't cowards."

"Bella?"

"Yeah Winter?"

"Fighting those vampires in Mexico. I know we took a hit as a team but inside the cave, inside that pit. I wasn't afraid when I was fighting. Why am I scared now?"

"Because despite our lives not being natural we are human and we have flaws and fears and wants and needs. Now I need to go talk to Jake because I don't want Jason to kill him. See how that works? Find her. Talk to her. It's okay to be scared. Do it anyway."

While Winter asked Sam for directions to Sue Clearwater's house, Bella walked the familiar dirt paths to Jacob Black's house. She heard noises in the garage and bypassed the house.

There he was. Bella was swept up in a feeling of déjà vu. It seemed so familiar to her. It was familiar. Jake's back was to her, buried under the hood of a car she had never seen before.

"New car?"

"Hey there. I wondered when you were going to show up." Jake said without looking at her.

"Here I am. We probably need to talk, don't you think?"

Jacob turned around and smiled at her. He wasn't wearing a shirt and had his trademark grin that used to bring sunshine into the darkness that was Bella's life.

"Is this the part where you say it's not you, it's me?"

"We weren't actually together so I don't know if that would work Jake." Bella said bluntly. She didn't want to be rude. A part of her had loved this man. That part was the reason she ran from Edward Cullen. That part of her still loved him.

It just wasn't the love he wanted.

Jake made her see the importance of life.

"Well you missed your chance anyway. I have a girlfriend." he said winking at her.

"I heard. Congratulations."

"Thanks. You too. Your man seems like he is … interesting. How are Charlie and him getting on?"

"Pretty well I suppose. I mean Charlie has had a lot to take in but he seems to be taking it in stride."

"He missed you. He would love anyone you brought home that wasn't a vampire, so long as you were home. He wasn't the same without you. I suppose none of us were."

"I thought nothing changed much around La Push."

"You have a tendency to change things Bella."

"That's what I hear." Bella admitted.

"So how is the whole sword wielding, commando super hero thing working out? The new look is hot."

"Thanks." Bella told him and then laughed. Jake could always make her laugh. "It is …weird."

"No kidding. At least you get to stay on two legs and don't rip your clothes off when you use your power. Not that I wouldn't mind seeing that." Jake told her with a smile.

"See that is the kind of statement that can get you killed Jake."

"You going to kill me Bella? It was a joke."

"No it wasn't. Not really. No, I would never hurt you. Not me."

"Your boyfriend? Please Bella. I understand he is some kind of bad ass Navy Seal with poor grammar and a Texas accent but he isn't a wolf."

"No, a wolf protects human life at all costs. A Seal will take a life if he is threatened. They also consider certain looks to be the same as threats. Believe it or not, he isn't a live and let live kind of guy."

"Really?"

"Jake he has killed as many if not more vampires than you. I don't want to see you hurt or worse. I don't want you to hurt him. We have a common enemy and we need to focus on them."

"I am. Bella I get it. You don't love me. Not like I love you. I'm sorry about last night. It just caught me by surprise. I mean two UFOs land and men in black jump out holding rifles, then you are there and I have you in my arms. I never thought I would see you again. Then John Wayne walks out, complete with cowboy hat and tells Charlie he is your boyfriend. It caught me by surprise. I'm sorry if your sensitive boyfriend doesn't like the look I gave him. I'll be sure not to offend him again with a look."

"Jake, … I would appreciate it. You know how important you are to me. Jason is important to me. I love him. You have a girlfriend. But you mean the world to me. I am sorry it can't be the type of love you are looking for."

"Best friends right?" Jake asked.

"Yeah." Bella said with a relieved smile. Jake understood.

"Not really."

Bella stood speechless for a moment at that remark.

"What are you talking about?"

"The girl? Your partner? She told Charlie all about your friendship. Growing up together, meeting again, training together, shopping together, throwing millionaires out of casino windows together. She is your best friend. That's okay. I'm not jealous. I guess … nevermind."

"No. Say it. Tell me what the problem is Jake. Please tell me you aren't jealous of my friend."

"It's not like that Bella. I'm jealous of the whole thing."

"What whole thing?"

"When you were with Cullen, everyone knew that you were really one of us. When you left him it was solidified. We fought to convince you to stay human. To stay with us in the land of the living and not the undead. You were a part of this pack. It didn't matter that you weren't an imprint or you couldn't phase. You were one of us. I guess last night it just hit me. We can work together, be friends, be whatever you want. What shocked me was the realization that you weren't one of us anymore. That girl left in the middle of the night with Sam. You are a part of them now. They came out with guns for God's sake."

"We do that everywhere we go." Bella quickly explained. "We have to treat any situation where we land as if it is hostile until we determine that it isn't. Until then we have to be prepared. Those guns weren't to control you or threaten you. They were there in the event that vampires were in the area, setting a trap and using the pack."

"See that's what I'm talking about. You never would have thought of that when you were one of us. That isn't a bad thing. You have grown up and learned a lot. You are different. You are going to have to forgive me if I am jealous. Jealous of your boyfriend, jealous of your best friend, jealous of the family you have now. I always wanted you to be a part of the pack family. It's okay. I'll be fine. I will hide it. I will get over it. But last night caught me by surprise. I'm fine. I will always love you. But just like an imprint I will be what you need me to be. I wasn't lying when I told you I didn't care who you were with so long as you stayed human. I didn't expect him, but if it works for you I will be happy for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really. Last night just caught me off guard. I'll be good, I promise. No more dirty scary looks at your big tough soldier. Does he wear that hat when he gets in shoot outs with vampires?" Jake asked, goading Bella. Despite herself she smiled.

"No. He wears special night vision goggles and when he fires he never misses. Never. That's why I want you to be friends Jake. At least not hostile towards each other."

"Bella I will be friends with him. No joking. Maybe the two of us can take our significant others on a double date. You should meet her. She … actually she would probably give you the same look I gave your man last night."

"Maybe you should have a talk with her then. I would hate to kill her if she is as nice as you say." Bella told him, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

Jake laughed when Bella was unable to keep a straight face.

"Hand me a soda out of the fridge and help yourself. Unless you have to go? Fire arms training or hand to hand? Maybe practice firing some RPGs at trees?"

"Fuck you Jake." Bella told him, shooting the finger at him with a smile.

"See that's what I mean. You are theirs now. That's okay. You seem good where you are at. Just remember you will always have a home here if you need one."

"Thanks." Bella told him honestly.

"I mean you never know when you might get betrayed by a double agent and need a safe house to hide out in."

Bella threw the soda at him.

Jake caught it before it hit his face. Barely.

"Still throw like a girl I see. Take this wrench and help me out. I need some bolts loosened up underneath and I'm too big to get under there. Plus if the engine falls on you, you are strong enough to catch it right? I have to hurry. Top secret"

"Not sure. My sword is back at Sam's. The farther away I am the weaker I become."

"Why did you leave it then? You have to be ready at all times Bella. Be aware of your situation at all times. I realize you have a team of super soldiers but you need to protect yourself. What is that thing in your ear?"

Bella took a deep breath.

"Give me the fucking wrench Jake."


	15. Chapter 15

A/N Okay here is some of the action I promised you. First chapter of my original story should be up this week. My wife told me tonight that there were already 8 members. I don't think I am even a member yet. So those brave 8 I will have something for you to read by Wednesday. The first chapter of the Mina and Connolly story. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. I had fun writing it By the way those of you who like these author notes, I won't have any on my original stories. Why? Because it has a blog where I can write all of my thoughts. Most of it will be crap but maybe in a million words of crap I can write a profound sentence or two.

Honestly it will probably be just me and Ty making fun of the world.

Chapter 15

"So Jasper made the call?" Webb asked. The team was told to assemble thirty minutes before the scheduled meeting with the pack by Connolly. Most of the team was assembled. The two sword carrying super heroines were not present.

"Yeah he did. Edward Cullen has been notified that Bella is back in Forks." Connolly confirmed. "Vivian traced the call to the Denali area of Alaska. According to Hale or Whitlock or whatever fucking name he is using this week, there is a coven of Succubi that Edward likes to visit. We have satellites tracking his progress now and Vivian hacked into the GPS in his car. He still drives a Volvo if you can believe that shit."

"Where are Bella and Winter? Shouldn't they be here?" Clive asked.

"Winter is desperately trying to track Leah Clearwater in the woods, who ran off apparently because of an imprint and Bella has decided to play mechanic with her old friend Jake." Connolly said, a bit annoyed.

"You could have called them in." Webb pointed out.

"They aren't needed for this discussion." Jason said shortly. He was more than a bit annoyed.

"Okay. So what is this discussion?" Clive asked.

"Webb has pointed out to me many times that there are too many alphas on this team. There is a reason for this. I was told by the President to not just assemble a team to fight abnormal enemies. I was also told to find men who could lead their own teams. We can't rely on back up from shape shifting wolves and four vampires forever. Okay maybe the vampires forever but not the wolves."

"So everyone here will have their own team?" Webb asked.

"Most of you. Clive will assemble a team in the UK of SAS soldiers he selects. Mina will be running an intelligence agency devoted to supernatural threats made up of those she selects from the CIA, Mossad and the UK Intelligence agencies including the NSA and British Signals agency to handle the technical aspects. Vampires will be hunted worldwide and destroyed. Any other enemies we find out about including Lycans in Europe and Asia will be dealt with as well. From what we learned at Groom they are tough bastards if they still exist. I believe they do. Looking at some of the losses we have sustained over the past ten years in the wilds of Siberia and the Ukraine, I am less convinced that those teams were lost and never seen again because of conventional enemies. Our job is to find any supernatural enemy in the world who present a danger to the US or our allies and exterminate them. I want each of you to begin thinking of personnel for your teams. I will make final decisions if some of you want the same guys. Look at recent graduates from Coronado and any other special forces, even Army, as well as experienced operators. We can't gut the teams in the field completely and leave them without experienced leaders. Take a look at Army guys. If I can accept King and Brody the rest of us can as well." Connolly finished with a wink.

"So Hawk is getting a team?" Dante asked.

"No." Connolly said quickly.

"Why not?" Hawk asked.

"Because you're insane." Jason told him bluntly.

"Fair enough. I'm more interested in blowing shit up than managing the details anyway."

"Also look for Marine snipers, and those with flight experience." Connolly added on.

"Speaking of, you think we could get some help now?" Dante asked.

"Why? The less people that know about this unit the better, for the time being."

Ty felt the need to speak at this time. "I hate to disagree with you Jay but he has a point. Brody only flew warthogs for a year. He sucks at flying the most technically advanced aircraft in human history."

"Hey I got you here didn't I?" Brody asked, offended. He then turned to Connolly. "He's right though. I do suck."

Dante also had problems with the current arrangement.

"Yeah I gotta agree, Connolly. I signed up to fight, not be a bus driver. Why don't you go out to Miramar and find some Navy pilots? At least get some Marines who can fly harriers. Those damn things are beyond me and I have had the most time with them. You brought me here to fight on the ground. Let me fight on the ground."

"What about Air force?" King asked.

The Seals in the group quickly disagreed. Ty explained the problem.

"No way man. We may need conventional fighters that can land on carriers. You ever seen an Air force pilot land on a carrier? Damn deck crew is scared to go out there. Navy pilots are the best in the world."

"Bullshit." King responded.

"Ty is right. The Navy is the best for what we are looking for. I will start looking at some recent Top Gun grads. See what we got." Connolly told the team.

"That was a great fucking movie." Brody admitted, hating to give the Navy any credit for anything, even a movie.

"Yeah but it I felt bad when Iceman died. Breakin your neck on a canopy has to suck."

The team stared at Ty, except for Connolly who had his head in his hands.

"What?"

"That was Goose who broke his neck. Iceman was the one who won the Top Gun trophy." Connolly clarified.

"You sure?"

A chorus of yes rose from the team.

"I knew that and I'm not even American." Mina told Ty.

"Man fuck it. I stopped watchin that movie after they showed that gay porn scene where they played beach volleyball. Looked like they all wanted to lay up on each other and shit."

"Know a lot about gay porn Gavin?" Hawk asked.

"I will remind you one more time, you are the stupid fucker who said and I quote, I like it here, when discussing prison. From hell? You from Cleveland bitch. Sides if we are gonna talk about corny ass movies from my toddler days let's talk about Navy Seals. That was the shit."

"Yeah, I guess that makes Connolly, Michael Biehn." Webb said smiling at Connolly. "Wasn't Biehn the one that fell in love with that half Lebanese chick?"

"Fuck no. Connolly is Charlie Sheen in that movie. It's only a matter of time before he gets his black sidekick shot and killed by some third world shit head." King pointed out.

"He got you there LT…wait, what black sidekick?" Ty asked, realizing what King said.

"Don't look at me. I'm half Cherokee." Dante pointed out to Ty.

"Yeah well it's the half of your ass that is black that Connolly is gonna get shot off. I'm too damn pretty to die. God did not make this perfect body to see it go down in some desert shithole." Ty argued.

"Can we get back to business please?' Jason half ordered and half begged.

"Aren't you a little concerned old boy?"

"About what Clive?"

"You sent your lovely lady over to have a talk with her werewolf about his jealousy and she is still over there. Has been all morning. How many satellites are watching that little house right now?"

"Only one and they aren't in the house. They are in some unattached garage. There was only one satellite in the area that had thermal."

That brought silence.

"I'm kidding guys!"

"I wonder if Bella is going to clean up or come to this little gathering covered in motor oil." Webb asked with a grin.

"Bigger question is if Winter is gonna show up covered in fur."

"Shut up Ty."

"That is so fuckin hot." Hawk murmured.

"Yeah we all heard your thoughts on the subject. Those tents aren't soundproof Hawk." Webb pointed out.

"Back to business guys! Now!" Connolly yelled. The entire team was silent.

Until Ty started giggling.

"You so cute when you try to act all authoritative." he told Connolly causing him to smile and the rest of the team to break out in laughter.

"Fuck you guys. Somebody toss me a beer."

The wolf pack walked in ten minutes later led by Sam. Bella and Winter followed. By the look on Winter's face he guessed she didn't find Leah.

Leah walked in five minutes later and sat across the room from Winter not meeting her eyes.

"Shut up Webb."

"Didn't say a thing sir."

"You didn't have to. Bella I couldn't bring your sword since your buddy was hiking in the forest and none of us can lift the damn thing. We are doing drill after this. You gonna be able to join us or you got a transmission to work on?"

Bella said nothing but anger did cloud her face. Jake spoke first.

"You are Jason Connolly right? We met briefly last night but I didn't catch your name until Bella brought it up about every 60 seconds today. We were catching up. No need to be sarcastic. You like cars? Maybe you can come over and help us."

"The only thing I need to know about cars is how to wire the bomb into the ignition system." Connolly told him, meeting Jake's eyes with a look that indicated he knew just the car to blow up.

"I stopped by Sam's and grabbed my katana. It's outside in Jake's car so why don't you chill the fuck out?" Bella suggested. "We were just catching up."

"Go easy on him Bella. He's never had a romantic relationship with anything besides a gun in his life." Ty told her, trying to help.

"Let's get on point. Sam thanks for coming. All of you, thank you. As you know we are here for two reasons. One is to take out the Cullens. The other and primary objective is to take out the largest and most feared coven in the vampire world. We plan to use Bella to draw them in."

"How will they know Bella is here?"

"We will make one of the Cullen vampires call them. If they don't cooperate we will get one of our vampires to do it. I would rather they be assumed dead though, or at least in the background as much as possible. I have no idea if the Volturi has anyone watching Forks for Bella or even if they know she isn't with the Cullens any longer. From telephone calls we have listened to from Emmett Cullen's phone it appears Carlisle has been holding off Aro, making him believe they are postponing Bella's turning into one of those fuckers. Aro however is losing his patience. That leads us to believe that Aro wants Bella for some plan he is cookin up. I am about to share everything we know with you. This is top secret stuff. If you tell anyone what I am about to tell you I will tell everyone you turn into big fuckin wolves. So you guys ready to hear this?"

The wolves nodded.

An hour later they sat in silence trying to digest everything.

It was Paul LaHote who broke the silence.

"I hate to be the ass here. I'm kidding, I actually love it. Why the fuck should we help you go against these guys? They don't want La Push. Sam, how many wars are we going to fight for her?" Paul asked Sam pointing at Bella.

"Paul …" Sam started. Connolly interrupted Sam before he could complete a sentence.

"You have to."

"Excuse me? The government comes in here and tells us what we have to do? We aren't your fucking soldiers."

"You're right Paul. But I know quite a bit about your pack, especially how important your imprints are. Isn't that one of your sacred laws?"

"Yeah. What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Winter is an imprint. She isn't going to stay back and be protected. That means if you want to protect your imprint you are going to fight with us. If you want to survive this fight you are going to listen to us and do your job."

The wolves said nothing. Winter looked at the floor. Bella looked at Connolly, thinking she had the perfect place to store her sword.

"Who imprinted on her?" Seth asked, looking at the male wolves around him.

"I did." Leah said with a sigh.

More silence.

"What? None of you knew? I thought you said this morning you planned to tell them Sam."

"No Jason, I planned on speaking to Leah and seeing how she wanted to handle sharing this with the pack so they weren't caught by surprise when she phased with the rest of us, which she has been avoiding for the past two weeks."

"Oh."

"You can be such an insensitive ass." Bella told him and placed an arm around Winter's shoulders.

"You're right, I can. But it's best to get this shit out in the open. We are all a team now. We need to get this stowed away and dealt with so we can all focus on the mission."

Quil raised his hand.

"Can I ask a question?"

"No!" Sam, Jake and Embry answered simultaneously.

"Go ahead Quil." Taking a verbal beating from Bella in front of everyone, Connolly felt he had nothing to lose.

"You said that Lycans are real. Aliens too. Has the government ever ran across zombies?"

Despite the groans from the pack something clicked for Connolly. He looked up and saw Bella had the same thought. For a moment she met his eyes and didn't seem like she wanted to kill him.

"No … not yet." Connolly admitted. "Okay, meeting is over. Team assemble at forwarding base and get ready for drills. We need to become familiar with this terrain. Bella and Winter I would appreciate it if you would hold back. I need to talk to the two of you."

Everyone left the hall except the three.

"Seriously, you fucking asshole? You thought this was the place to bring up the imprint?!" Bella shouted once everyone was gone. "And what is this jealousy bullshit?"

Connolly realized being around the guys had definitely improved her cussing skills.

"We can talk about that later …"

"If you want to get laid in the near future we are going to talk about it now! Don't think you can just go off with another woman either because I will cut your dick off!"

"Okay. I guess we can talk about it now. Winter will you give us a moment?"

"Fuck you Connolly."

"Okay I guess we will have this discussion with Winter here. What do you want me to say Bella? I asked you to go talk with Jake, not spend the fucking day with him."

"I'll talk to anyone I damn well please for as long as I want. I'm not a soldier you can order around. I love you but if you think for one second I am putting up with another boyfriend with control issues again in this lifetime you are very wrong. I talked with Jake. He took you apparently a lot better than you are taking him. He isn't a threat. I love you even though you can be a fucking idiot. Get your shit together."

Connolly took a deep breath. Yes her cussin skills had gotten a helluva lot better. He needed to assess this situation and proceed with caution. He realized only one tactic was available to him.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly.

"What was that? I didn't hear you."

"I said I was sorry." Connolly said louder this time.

"I realize this is new to you. I've never had a healthy relationship where two people love each other as equals either. I would like to have one with you. You never acted like this before but it was just us. You didn't have any perceived threats around. If you had any faith in me, you would know there are no threats anywhere."

"I know." Jason mumbled looking at the table top.

"You are going to apologize to Leah and Winter."

"Why … okay." he agreed after looking at Bella once more. "Winter I'm sorry."

"Yeah you are. You are going to find Leah before you run any fucking drills and apologize. She was the one who was hurt." Winter told him.

"And you are going to apologize to Jake." Bella added on.

"For what?!"

"Being an asshole. Another thing, stop talking about our sex life to my Dad! I'm getting tired of this, Bella I've never had a relationship thing. Any idiot knows you don't talk to a father about his daughter's sex life. Save that John Wayne bullshit for the field and your boys club if you feel the need to brag. Not with my family. Use some fucking tact. Think before you talk. You think about everything else. Start using your head. The one on top of your neck if you are confused."

"Okay." Connolly agreed.

Life was easier in the Middle East.

But he didn't have her. He wouldn't trade it. He thought he could handle this but she was right. He was jealous of her old best friend and he did let his nerves get the better of him when meeting her father, leading to a complete lack of a verbal filter. Connolly realized this must be how Ty feels every day and felt a chill go down his spine.

"Can we talk about the zombies now? I need to talk to Chris and I thought you two should be in here."

"What zombies?" Winter asked.

"Maybe no zombies. I'm not even sure if it's possible but considering I am here planning to kill my girlfriend's vampire ex and have jealousy issues over her werewolf friend I am willing to buy anything at this point."

Connolly pulled his com from his pocket and placed it in his ear.

"Vivian? Get me Chris Jennings on the phone and open the conversation to Bella and Winter's coms on secure frequency 4."

"Ten four sir. That was a great ass chewing your girlfriend just gave you by the way."

"How the hell did you hear that? Our coms were supposed to be off."

"Bella and Winters weren't. It's important to stay in contact with me. They understand that. You should be jealous though. I'm looking at Jake's abs right now. Damn he is gorgeous."

"Vivian please get me in contact with Chris Jennings and then go get another piercing or tattoo. I have a few suggestions on body parts you can get pierced."

"Sounds good. I wouldn't mind coming up to Washington and getting imprinted on a few times."

"Chris now!"

Connolly heard the phone ring. Chris picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Chris this is Connolly. I have Winter and Bella with me. Where are you?"

"Staying with the priest in New York while he tries to find some information about these archives. So far nothing. We probably should have killed his vampire friend."

"Have a little faith Chris. He was a Seal. He will find out what we need to know."

"Yeah. Faith is all I have right now. What can I do for you Jason?"

"Chris these demons and lost souls you are afraid of breaking down these doors, what is the worst they could do if they do get to the physical world?"

"What do you mean? It would be hell on earth."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yeah. You mentioned demons can come through portals at certain times or be attached to certain objects leading to cases of possession. But it seems a bit farfetched to think these souls and demons are going to all find humans to possess. What would be the point?"

"I don't know but … what are you getting at Jason? You don't think this is a major threat?"

"I think it is a very major threat. Answer this for me. Can demons and souls possess dead bodies and bring them back to life?"

"No. I mean … it's never happened before. At least not that I know of. What, I mean where would there be millions of bodies for these souls? They aren't going to reanimate dead tissues from graveyards. Souls or ghosts if you will can't do that. Demons can't even do that."

"I don't know about millions but I have an idea who probably has a couple hundred. What about frozen tissue? Dead bodies with no blood kept inside some sort of cryogenic chamber? Could demons and souls inhabit those and bring them to some sort of life, even without blood?"

"It wouldn't last long. The bodies would start to decay. They would only have so much time to live."

"You sure?"

"No. You are thinking of the Volturi not burning bodies right? You think for the past year they have been keeping them for some reason involving the netherworld."

"Yep."

"How would they even know about that? Let me talk to Francis. I will have to look into it. I understand what you are thinking though. At this point anything could happen. They wouldn't have millions of bodies but they could easily have hundreds or even a thousand. We really need to get into that castle and I need to find those archives. Bella, Winter, how are you two doing? You haven't called me since you arrived."

"Sorry Chris. Just been catching up with my Dad and old friends." Bella told him.

"Winter are you okay?" Chris asked.

"Yeah Chris. Why?"

"Just wondering. Checkin on my girls. Bella how did your Dad take meeting your boyfriend?"

"He took it well, all things considered. Jason is obviously still alive."

"Glad to hear it. As soon as I get the information we need, and check on my kids I will be there. Edward Cullen fallin into the trap?"

"Yep." Bella told him, grinning for the first time tonight.

"Good. Happy hunting you two. If you need me call me anytime. Just ask that sweet Vivian girl to get you in touch with me."

"We will Chris. Be careful." Winter told him and ended the call.

"Sweet Vivian?"

"I like him, Connolly." The voice on the com responded.

"I will be off coms for a minute. Text me if you need me."

"Take all the time in the world. I will try to survive without your soft, calming voice in my ear constantly asking me if Bella has left Jake's garage yet. Did you know there is a couch inside that thing? Have fun groveling."

Connolly turned his com off while Bella sat across from him with her arms folded.

"I hate that bitch." he whispered.

"You can apologize to Jake first. Winter needs to talk to Leah. I will go with you so you don't act like you couldn't find the place even though I'm sure you have the latitude and longitude memorized. I need to get my katana. Leave it to Jake to forget he has a mystical sword in the back of his car."

"Will you come with me to talk to Leah, Bella?"

"No. This is between the two of you. Relax, give her a chance and follow your heart. You will be fine. I will see you at base when you are done. Take all the time you need."

Ten minutes later Bella grabbed her sword out of the back of Jake's car and began walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to train. Take care of business and get back to base. If you are good I might give you another story to not tell my Dad this time."

Bella walked off and Connolly watched her ass in her tight blue jeans until she walked into the trees and ran.

Fucking Mina. Life was easier when Bella hadn't known her.

Taking a deep breath he walked up to the garage. Jake was there with his back to him. Connolly briefly thought about shooting him but the idea of never having sex again with Bella took that thought out of his mind quickly.

"I can hear your heartbeat no matter how quiet you are. I know your scent as well. How you doing Jason? Come to kill me?"

"No I didn't and wait till I suit up and get our scent blocker on. You won't hear, smell or see me. I promise you."

"I believe you. So if you aren't here to kill me why are you here?"

"Uh … to apologize. For the … you know?"

"Being a possessive asshole?" Jake helped.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"That had to have hurt."

"You have no idea. My last mission before I got called up to battle the undead, I got shot in the lower leg. Bullet went clean through but it tore the muscle off the bone. I had to duct tape my calve muscle and basically run on bone, kill some guys and climb some stairs. On the second floor I took a shot in the vest that cracked a rib. Then I placed my 20 pound body armor on a hostage and carried her out of the building at a run. She maybe weighed 120 pounds but that seemed like a lot of weight at the time. Point being I was in a lot of fucking pain. This hurt worse."

" Bella tell you I got half my body crushed by a vampire?" Jake asked, finally turning to take Connolly in.

"Yep. You guys did good. Took some balls to work with an enemy to protect one girl."

"Yeah, having half of my body crushed and having to rely on a leech for medical care didn't hurt nearly as much as seeing her get into Sam's truck and disappear. As far as the broken bones, she is worth it. She has you turned all around doesn't she?"

"Yep. Believe me I wouldn't be here if she didn't."

"I don't doubt it. I fought with everything I had to win her but I couldn't do it. When she left I thought I would never see her again. She said she was a mess when Chris found her and she was still a mess when you took her."

"She wasn't a mess. She just needed a kick in the ass to show her who she really was. You should have seen her and Winter in Mexico. Surrounded by vampires, hardly any light. Fuckers were at full strength. Only real light was the vampires' burning bodies in the pit below that me and Gavin managed to shoot. But that light was enough for me to see those two. Bella saved me and Ty from some gifted vampire. She sliced off their legs by throwing her sword at them. She had to rely on Winter to watch her back until that blade went back to her. It was like watching a ballet of death."

"I wish I could have seen that." Jake admitted.

"I have a feeling before this is over you will see her kill a lot of vampires."

"You don't need to apologize. I know what jealousy is like, especially when it comes to her. You don't have to be jealous. I got her to love me enough to stay alive. But that was all I was going to get. I have come to peace with that. I knew that no matter what, she was out there and she was alive. I also know that she is in love with you. Not that drug addicted love she had with Cullen. I could tell by the way she talked about you today."

"Oh yeah? I figure you guys just talked about cars."

"Bella doesn't know shit about cars. She needed a little familiarity. It's important to her I guess. She has been gone so long, it probably just felt good for her to live a bit of her past. That's all it was."

"Yeah, that's what I figured too." Connolly lied.

"Good job outing Leah today. Bella bitch you out about that too?"

"Yep." Connolly admitted.

"That's what I'm talking about. The Bella I knew wouldn't have said anything. She hated conflict. What did you do to her?"

"Let three of my friends torture her for a week and then I took her on a camping trip to Death Valley for a couple weeks."

"That would do it." Jake admitted. "Should have thought of that myself. You want a beer? Got some in that fridge. Grab me one."

"I should probably get back. I'm supposed to be leading my guys in training. We need to practice with the terrain."

"Something tells me you guys could kill anything anywhere. Grab a beer and show me how to wire a bomb to an ignition system. I always wondered if it was as easy as the movies make it seem."

"It actually takes about five minutes." Connolly told him and grabbed two beers. "I suppose Webb can lead the drills. Pop open the engine and let's see what you got under this 67 Mustang."

"Thought you didn't know cars." Jake mentioned casually.

"I know enough. Just didn't want to admit it."

"Lie about women all you want. Never lie about cars Jason."

"So do you think Charlie likes me?"

"I think he has probably figured out he can't kill you so he is making the best of it."

"That bad?"

"Nah. You will be alright. Should probably keep the sexual innuendos to yourself though."

"Good advice."

"Just take him shooting and let him fire some automatic weapons and he will be putty in your hands. Now show me how to be a terrorist."

_Two days later. Forks Washington._

Edward Cullen doubted Jasper when he received the news. After two years of hiding why would Bella come back to her father's house. She had to know he was looking and probably had Charlie's home watched. Perhaps she thought it would be the last place he would look for her or the wolves would protect her. It didn't matter. This had gone on long enough. He would drain her to the point of death and force her to drink his blood. She would be a vampire whether she wanted it or not. As her sire, she would be completely under his control, just as he, Rose, Emmett and Esme were in Carlisle's control. Jasper and Alice were the only wild cards in Carlisle's carefully conceived clan, but Carlisle needed them. He needed a warrior of Jasper's skill and the benefit of Alice's ability to see the future was too good an opportunity to pass up. Plus Jasper had broken his sire's hold just as Garrett had over Carlisle's hold long ago. Carlisle was still bitter about that. Losing Garrett was another reason Carlisle needed Jasper.

Carlisle, Esme, Rose and Alice were waiting at the mansion. Waiting for Bella to arrive in Edward's arms, screaming. He would not disappoint Carlisle. He would not disappoint himself. Having her blood nightly was a dream come true. To have her as his slave would be too good an opportunity to pass up. His mouth was practically watering at the prospect of this last opportunity to taste her blood. Rosalie was right. It was like a drug to him. A drug he would sorely miss.

Climbing the tree with ease, confident in the night, he peered into the window and saw her brown hair, face buried in the pillow. Edward found this strange. She always slept on her back. He supposed he could forgive her a bit of change. Hiding from him for so long must have been stressful.

He gently lifted the window. As usual she left it unlocked. Some habits were hard to break, Edward supposed.

He walked to the bed softly. With luck he would have her nearly drained before she ever woke.

Reaching out to brush her hair aside and give him access to her neck he realized something was wrong. Her heart beat calmly but her scent was barely there. He should have been saturated with it, this close to her.

"You don't want to do that. She is a powerful ugly woman."

Edward turned quickly and saw a large bald black man sitting in the rocking chair by Bella's window. He had a rifle pointed at Edward.

Edward could not understand how he did not hear this man's heartbeat or smell him. He then noticed the body armor on the man.

"That hurts Ty. I'm going to leave you if you don't start treating me better."

Edward turned back to the bed and saw the body was not Bella. Instead it was a man in a wig pointing a rifle at his chest.

"My name is Connolly. I know what you are thinking vampire. No way this rifle can hurt you, right?"

Edward stood in shock and looked back at the rifle. It did not appear to be a normal rifle but some sort of modified M 4.

"Where is Bella?" he asked the man, feeling his anger building.

"You will see her soon enough. First there is someone who wants to say hello."

The door to Bella's room was kicked open and Edward was faced with Charlie Swan holding a shotgun.

The shotgun was at Charlie's waist. Edward prepared to take the gun and kill everyone in this room until the shotgun blast erupted. He felt the slug strike his crotch and doubled over in pain. His body was in the air, flying out the open window.

He struck the tree outside and hit the ground. Immediately his hands grabbed what used to be his dick. He screamed in pain and rolled on the ground. Looking up he saw the faces of the black man, the wigged man, and the smiling face of Charlie Swan looking down from the window at him.

"Nice shot Charlie." The white man told the Chief.

Edward was confused. Despite the pain in his crotch and the venom and blood from his last victim leaking out of his ruined pants, he managed to stand and run.

Until he saw Bella. Even in pain, Edward noticed the changes in her appearance. Especially the look of determination and anger in her eyes.

She wore black pants and a long sleeve black shirt. In her hands was a katana blade. She was turning the edge of the blade back and forth, the moonlight gleaming off the steel. Behind her was a thin brunette with short hair. She was as small as Bella and also had a katana in her hand.

"Hello Edward. I hear you have been looking for me. Here I am."

Edward rushed her. He could still salvage this night by taking her. As he got closer though his world seemed to slow down. He saw Bella in the air twisting.

Three feet away her foot struck his jaw sending him flying back into the tree trunk.

Edward looked up and saw the tip of the blade. Bella's strong arm tipped the sword up under Edwards chin, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"Guess what? Somebody isn't weak anymore. Want to guess who?"

"What are you?" Edward asked, gasping through the pain. He thought his jaw might be broken.

"I'm a pissed off ex fiancée who takes issue with being enthralled by you."

Bella kicked him in the ribs, causing him to flip over. He felt the blade on the back of his neck.

"I have good news for you. I'm not going to kill you yet. Though judging by the look of what Dad did to you, you might be wishing you were dead."

Winter had been watching the exchange with a smile. At least until Summer spoke to her.

Winter turned at the approaching sound of the engine. Jumping over the small sports car as it sped under her, she yelled at Bella.

"Watch out Bella!"

Bella turned and dove to the side, a second before the red convertible would have crushed her against the tree. She saw Edward lift the front of the car off of himself and run. He reached his car with a limp and got inside starting the engine and driving off.

Bella screamed in frustration from the ground watching Edward Cullen drive off. Looking up at Connolly she shouted.

"Get that fucker! These bitches are mine."

Bella stood quickly and Winter was by her side in an instant. The two girls met the smirking gazes of Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale.

"My my. You have certainly changed Bella. How on earth did you get vampire strength and what exactly do you think you are going to do with that blade in your hands little girl?" Rosalie asked.

Bella struck her blade through Rosalie's belly, causing the vampire's eyes to open wide.

"I'm thinking of using it to cut you to pieces, while my friends track down my ex. How are you Alice?"

"I'm good Bella. I uh… I missed you?" Alice tried, staring in shock at the blade that just ran though her sister.

"Don't you wish you could have seen this coming?"

Winter kicked Alice in the head. Bella pulled her blade out from Rose's stomach and tossed it to the ground.

Rose lashed out and was surprised to find nothing but air. A small fist struck her nose and she felt the bone underneath crushing.

Rose swung again and saw Bella catch her arm and flip her over. She placed a boot on Rose's shoulder and pulled. Rose screamed as her arm was ripped from her shoulder.

"Then again I may just tear you apart with my hands bitch."

While Bella played with Rose, Winter delivered a series of kicks to Alice's face. Alice attempted to jump over Winter only to have her ankle grabbed and her body crashed back into the ground.

A blade stabbed through Alice's chest, pinning her to the ground. Winter smiled as she twisted the blade.

Alice screamed.

Rose turned towards Alice, ignoring the pain of her missing arm.

"Rose, look at me."

Rose turned back to Bella, trying to sit up.

"You don't want to miss this." Bella told her and swung her katana, the blade slicing through Rosalie Hale's neck. She felt her head hit the ground but could no longer feel her body. Her eyes saw the other girl dropping a lighter on Alice's body while Alice's head sat on the ground, her eyes still blinking.

Bella lifted Rosalie's head and turned it towards her body which was twitching on the ground.

She saw a lighter dropping on the body she had used to get what she wanted and manipulate those around her for over one hundred years go up in flames. Her eyes widened as Bella tossed her head onto her body. She felt the flames. Trying to scream, Rose realized no sound came out.

Then she saw nothing but darkness as her conscious thoughts faded away in a cloud of searing pain.

Bella walked over to where Alice's head lay. Winter stood over her body watching it burn. Bella lifted Alice's head off the ground where it had fallen.

"Like I said Alice, you really could have seen this coming."

Tossing Alice's head onto the fire, Bella turned and looked at Jason. Opening her com she heard his voice.

"I want that fucker alive. Bring him back to camp. Make it happen guys."

Edward drove in a panic. Had it not been for Rose and Alice he had no doubt he would be dead now. The thought of helping them never crossed his mind. Somehow Bella had changed. She had grown strong and fast, way to fast and strong for a human. How did Charlie Swan injure him with a simple shotgun?

Edward's thoughts were interrupted by a man in the middle of the road holding what looked like a large mini gun that had six barrels in a cirlce. The kind of canon one would see on video games. He was smiling.

One hundred rounds of ammunition tore through the engine of his Volvo. Edward drove straight, watching the man dive out of the way. Edward swore he could see the man smiling.

He felt his engine losing power. Then he heard a thought from above him.

Got this fucker.

Who the hell was that?

Edward's question was answered when a large black aircraft landed on top of his Volvo causing it to stop in the middle of the road. He burst through his door. Even with his injury he was certain he could outrun whoever the hell these humans were in the forest.

Edward was correct. He didn't hear them following.

He should have been more focused. He never heard the savage thoughts until it was too late.

Edward was clotheslined and hit the ground hard. Standing above him were Jasper, Peter, Charlotte and Carlisle's child Garrett. What was he doing here now? Foul scents invaded his sensitive nose and he noticed he was surrounded by wolves as well.

Jasper rolled him over, face first into the ground. His arms were forced behind his back and he felt cuffs going around his wrists. He tried to break the cuffs but the metal was too strong.

"Jasper? What are you doing?"

Jasper smiled.

"By the order of the President of the United States, you are under arrest for 262 counts of murder, 122 cases of breaking and entering Chief Swan's home, 376 counts of the illegal hunting of animals out of season and tax evasion. Of course that is just in the past few years and only the ones I knew about."

"Tax evasion?"

"It got Al Capone. Too bad you don't have presidential pardons like we do." Peter told Edward..

"Kill me." Edward begged. Jasper refused.

"Nah. Think I'm gonna let you live without a dick for a while longer. Looks like it hurts. Besides Bella wants to talk to you. I think you have some explaining to do. I also have a couple questions for you. Actually only one. Not that I care that much because she was a lousy fuck but it's more of a pride thing. Did you really think I wouldn't know you were fucking my wife?"


	16. Chapter 16

A/N Hello. For those of you who aren't reading Chasing Bella updates I am proud to say that my website is up and running. There is a new Twilight fanfic called The Swan Clan by MooNOrchid and an original one shot by Mark Foster that is very moving. Also I have been posting Chasing Bella on the website and will eventually have all my fanfics there. I said I wasn't going to write anymore fanfics and I won't but the site is a good place for me to make additions to my old stories and edit them. For instance there was a lot of stuff I wanted to put in a Fresh Start that I left out because I was afraid the story would drag. Mostly stuff about Bella and Bo's time together before they were found by everyone. I will add that and totally rework Freedom. Plus I will add the birth scene and Ty's first NBA game after the Bodyguard ended eventually. Speaking of Ty he also has a profile there and that page has a link to his Facebook account. So if you ever wanted to be friends with Ty on FB now is your chance.

My website has 145 members when I checked this morning and that blew my mind. I didn't expect that many and I hope more of you will join us. No waiting, easy sign up and instant membership. I am thinking we are going to have a lot more first time authors and I hope some of my old friends and veterans to the game posting there, original works, fan fiction from any genre and anything else.

The first chapter of my original story called Bad Company is now up and I am very excited about it. It features a vampire Mina, Connolly, Gavin, Hawk, Youngblood, Vivian and Webb along with a very different Summer and Winter, and Chris Jennings plus a new OC villain that will make Irkalla look not so bad in comparison. This time Connolly's team isn't working for the government for long. They have to go their own way and help Mina fight the CIA and a vampire coven after two very powerful girls. The vampires are vampires in this story. They don't care for sunlight at all and love to use guns almost as much as Connolly.

The website's webmaster is my wife. This has led to a change in our marriage dynamic. Instead of complaining about how much time I spend writing, she woke up this morning and asked when I would have the next chapter of Blood and Steel written so she could post it and I could start working on the second chapter of Bad Company. Then I needed to get to work on Chapter 16 of Chasing Bella which is also on there and wanted to know when I would have it done. I said this week and she said when this week? What day?

So yeah. I'm now under deadline pressure from my home.

What else? The blog and photos area. Anyone can write a blog. Even Ty. I have written two entries of random thoughts. There will also be photos of story sites and me and my family. Any other members can post whatever pics or stories they want. It's kind of just a hang out place. Speaking of, Friday night was kind of a big deal for me. I got to escort my lovely daughter onto the field since she was a member of the Junior class Homecoming court and after missing the first three games and practices because of a baseball injury in the summer my Freshman son got some playing time for the first time in his high school life. Pictures will be posted of the night on my site as well. Lord knows my wife took enough of them. Okay that's it. Site is still not on Google yet but the address is on my profile or just go to betterintexasfiction() ning() com . The () is where the dots go. Hope to see you there. You, like another member I said good morning to yesterday at 4 AM because someone else can't sleep like me, can ask me when the hell the next chapter of Blood and Steel is coming because she wants to see Edward Cullen dead. I promised her it would be available on my site first and then on ffn the next dat (today). Hope you guys are continuing to enjoy the story.

Chapter 16

_Portland Oregon_

Carlisle was annoyed. Very annoyed. Apparently while he was on rounds, maintenance had changed the light bulbs in his office. Instead of the soothing artificial light he was used to he felt bombarded with UV rays.

He felt weak.

He felt human and he did not like this. Carlisle prepared to call his assistant in to ask her why she allowed someone in his office while he was out. Honestly the woman was very pretty, handpicked by Carlisle and he enjoyed seeing her afraid.

Before he could hit the intercom she was knocking on his door.

"Come in."

Cynthia walked in slowly. To Carlisle's delight she was already shaking. Perhaps she knew what was coming.

"How may I help you Cynthia?" Carlisle asked in his softest voice. Cynthia was the only one in the hospital who had seen his darker side. She had no idea how much he loved the dark.

"There is a … man here to see you. He says he is feeling very ill."

"So have him go to the ER." This girl was an idiot. It would be time to move soon and without the necessity of golden eyes for a few weeks he planned to enjoy every last drop of this girl's blood.

"He was insistent on seeing you sir. He is right outside."

Before Carlisle could stand and intimidate the girl she was pulled back and the door closed behind her.

Standing in Carlisle's office was the largest human Carlisle had ever seen in person. He was wearing green camo pants and a black t shirt that appeared to want to break, stretched over his chest and around his veiny huge biceps.

"Hello Dr. Cullen."

"Can I help you? There seems to be some mistake. I can walk you to the ER if you like." Carlisle stepped forward. He felt confident despite being shocked by the man's size.

Carlisle glanced at the UV lights above him. He briefly thought of breaking them but thought that would seem silly. After all this man was only human.

"No, I don't need the ER. Not me. I need you. I hear you are a very good doctor."

"I like to think so." Carlisle said, smiling.

"I need you to look at my forehead."

"Okay …" Carlisle stepped up closely to the human and gazed up at the man's head.

"What exactly am I looking for?"

Dan Hawk brought his forehead down on Carlisle Cullen's head swiftly causing Carlisle to stumble back and momentarily lose his sight.

Carlisle felt himself being lifted in the air though.

"You guys aren't so tough in the sunlight are you? Even artificial sunlight. Bella says hi."

Hawk body slammed Carlisle through his desk, breaking it in two.

"How are you feeling now Dr. Cullen?"

Carlisle rolled over and growled.

Hawk pulled a handgun and shot Dr. Cullen in the stomach. Cynthia screamed from the reception area at the gun blast. It didn't matter. Dante would make sure no one interfered. Hawk needed to let out a little aggression.

Carlisle rolled on the floor in agony, not believing in even this weakened state that a bullet could cause him pain.

He looked up and saw a fist crashing into his face. A hand grabbed his neck and lifted him off the floor, throwing him into a wall.

Carlisle lay on his bleeding abdomen face first on the floor. He felt his arms being pulled back and a pair of cuffs going over his wrist. The metal felt and smelt strange.

"Guess what bitch? I'm going to have the gun that just ripped your fucking gut open, pressed against your head. A head shot and you turn to ash. We are going to walk down the hallway to our van outside. Inside is a long box. A coffin really. A vampire like yourself should be at home there. Once you are in we are taking you to my home. If you resist, and I really hope you do, I get to kill you and my boss can't get mad at me. So please, fucking resist."

Dr. Cullen did not resist.

Meanwhile at the Cullen estate just outside of Portland, Esme worked in her rose garden, content that the overhead clouds gave her all the strength she should need to get away, should the Volturi show up. She warned Carlisle he was playing with fire in regards to the Bella Swan situation. He fouled it up as usual, placing them all in danger. Esme knew Aro wanted Bella since he saw her in his throne room. Once she was turned he would find some reason to take her. Esme wished Edward had never met her.

Still they followed Carlisle's wishes. What choice did they have? What choice did she have? On the bright side they would soon be leaving here for the Alaskan wilderness. Carlisle could have his fun with the Denalis and Esme would not have to hide behind golden eyes any longer. She was so hungry for the taste of human blood.

Her doorbell rang. Esme was confused, not expecting anyone today. Perhaps the mailman had a delivery. She walked through her large parlor and opened the door. She was surprised to find a beautiful brunette wearing sunglasses and a large black overcoat over her short red dress.

Her blood smelt divine.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

"Are you Mrs. Cullen?"

"That's right. Who are you?"

"My name is Mina Abrams. I am with the Portland Red Ribbon Women's Social Club."

"Oh, I see. What can I do for you?"

"May I come in?"

Esme managed not to groan. She hated the sniveling humans begging for money to fund some project or another. Still perhaps if she could find out if anyone knew that Mina was here, an early supper might not be out of the question. Carlisle could deal with it.

"Of course."

Esme stepped aside and Mina walked in past Esme, her back to the vampire.

"So you are with a women's social club? What sort of activities does your organization perform?"

Mina's coat dropped to the floor. She turned around and to Esme's great surprise Mina was holding a shotgun pointed at her.

"We are more of a gun club actually. We like to get together once a month and blow the kneecaps off of vampires."

Esme was so shocked the pain of her right knee being obliterated did not register at first. By the time Mina had chambered another shell , and that shell destroyed Esme's left knee, she definitely felt the pain.

She lay on her back on her marble floor and saw a mixture of venom and deer blood pooling at her legs. The shotgun barrel was placed against her head.

"You are under arrest. We are going to turn you over and place some cuffs on your wrists. If you try to bite me or my friend Ty who will be escorting you, I am going to send you to hell. Do you understand?"

Esme nodded through the pain.

"When we carry you outside we are going to place you in a long metal box and transport you to our base. Don't bother trying to break it or those cuffs. I know what you are and I don't underestimate your strength. Don't make the mistake of underestimating mine."

_La Push Washington_

"What are you? Why am I here?" Edward Cullen asked the man across the table. He had his feet kicked up and was wearing a cowboy hat. Edward recognized his face as the one who had been in Bella's bed.

"As far as what I am, that is too long a conversation and I am afraid you don't have that much time. Let's just say I am bad news. Why are you here? I could say information but I doubt you have any that we don't already know about. No you are here because the crazy ass love of my crazy ass life wants to have a word with you. I'm talking about Bella of course."

"Good, I would like to talk to Bella." Edward hissed, his hands still cuffed behind his back. Inside the tent he felt strong, the overhead clouds helping as he was escorted by Garrett and Jacob Black of all people from the metal box that had been his home during transport. Still he could not break the cuffs.

"Your two girlfriends are dead. Way to stand up for them. Very impressive show of cowardice. Course with your dick blown to shreds you really had no need for them any longer, did you?"

"You will pay for this. I will torture you before I kill you. I will torture you for days and make Bella watch. Or perhaps I will torture her and make you watch."

"If you are trying to get a rise out of me boy that's a long wait for a train that don't come. As far as torturing Bella I'm not sure if you remember this in the haze of having your dick blown off, but she kicked your ass before your two bitches tried to save you. Then she killed the blonde one all by her lonesome while her friend roasted the short haired future teller. I believe it was night time too. She is stronger than you, you fucking pussy. Hell she broke Jasper's neck and he took you out in the woods."

"I was surprised. I won't be surprised again." Edward said confidently, only slightly shaken by the fact that he could read anyone's mind anywhere around the area. He knew Bella must be doing this, he just wasn't sure how.

"If I am here to speak to Bella where is she?"

"Sharpening her sword." Connolly lied.

Edward felt a chill all over his body, no longer sure that he would make it out of this alive.

"I'm just kidding. That damn thing stays sharp no matter what. Kinda like my knife. It's brand new, made of the same metal as our ammunition. You remember the ammunition Charlie used to incinerate your dick right?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I could take this blade and slowly cut off parts of you and send them to the Volturi, in some of those Fed Ex flat rate boxes. Aro always wanted you in his coven right? Perhaps he might enjoy having you in small pieces before I kill his ass too."

"You can't kill Aro."

"You probably would have said the same about yourself before we met. I don't believe in immortality. The two facts of life are death and taxes. Course some are harder to kill than others like myself and vampires. But all die eventually, usually when they meet me."

"You are a cocky son of a bitch, aren't you?"

"Son you got no idea." Connolly agreed. "As much as I would love to sit here and talk to you more, Bella is probably itching to get in here. She wanted to say goodbye before you die."

"Excellent. I would love to taste her blood again."

"I think it's your blood you should be more concerned about. Or whatever that shit is that leaks out of you. No, her days of being your toy are over. I would love to tell you every intimate detail of what I do to her on a daily basis that is a lot more fun and doesn't involve drinking blood but then I would get bitched out again for talking about our … you know what? I'm not even going to say sex life because she might bitch me out again. See you around Eddie. I got a fire to start and it ain't easy in all this damn rain."

Connolly walked out, leaving Edward alone.

He wasn't alone long.

Bella walked inside, moved behind Edward and he felt the cuffs being freed from his wrists quickly. She was still in the same black outfit she had worn the night before. In the light Edward noticed definite changes in her appearance and shape. Gone was the soft, shy girl who walked with her head down. She was narrow, sleek and stood tall despite her still short height.

"Before you think of running, you should know that the wolf pack, Jasper, Peter, Charlotte and Garrett are just outside this tent and also a large number of pissed off soldiers."

Edward heard a throat clearing outside. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Sorry. I meant Seals."

Someone began to cough outside. Bella sighed.

"Plus a couple of Delta Force guys and one guy we found in prison. There is also an Israeli assassin and my partner in crime. You aren't going anywhere. Besides I would just catch you myself. You are very fast but I'm faster."

"Yes I noticed. It is good to see you Bella."

"Really?" Bella asked, surprised. "I doubt you wanted to see me like this."

"True."

"Why did you enthrall me?"

"Because I wanted you. I wanted your blood. It truly was the sweetest blood I had ever tasted."

"Why didn't you turn me? You had many chances."

"Carlisle wanted to wait. It was why he made us leave you. Because when we returned you would be even more reliant on us. Of course I ran to the Volturi after I falsely heard you were dead."

"Why did you do that?" Bella asked. "Go to the Volturi?"

"Because the idea of living without your blood ever again, after having been away from it so long, made me want to die. You really were an addiction."

"Why did you follow Carlisle then?"

"I had to do as he commanded. He is my sire."

"So?"

"Vampires have to do as their sire commands, a fact of vampire life."

"Garrett certainly doesn't." Bella pointed out.

"It is possible for strong willed individuals to break the hold just as you broke the enthrallment. Of course Jacob Black had more to do with that. You aren't exactly what I would call strong willed. Do you have any idea how easy it was to have you in my control? How submissive you were night after night as you lay back and allowed me to drink your blood from your sweet throat? I could smell your excitement."

"Yes, that was before I learned what actual sex was like." Bella pointed out. "So if I had been turned by you I would have been your slave for as long as you lived?"

"Yes."

"That is why you fought so hard to keep me alive. James, Victoria, the van in the parking lot, the would be rapists in Port Angeles. All because they wanted to take away your toy."

"Yes. That is what you were. A toy, but a toy I desired very much."

"You desired my blood." Bella pointed out.

"You are your blood. Blood is all that matters to me. As far as sex I doubt you would have been as good as a Succubus like Rose or even a normal vampire such as Alice. You certainly could not have been as good as the Denali women. I had plenty of opportunities for sex. You were the only one I had the opportunity to drink from who willingly lay on her back and enjoyed it. I'm surprised you managed to keep from pleasuring yourself while I did it." Edward told her with a grin.

"If you are trying to make me angry it won't work."

"Why would I try to make you angry? Where else will you find a vampire who can make you feel like I did?"

"Normally I would tell you about my sex life with my new man right now, but considering I bitched him out the other day over that issue I will keep it to myself. Needless to say he does things to me that you couldn't have dreamed of. Instead of teeth he uses his tongue. Let's talk about the Volturi. Why do they want me so badly?"

"Because you can block gifts. You are doing so now, even as a human. I am curious, how are you doing this? How did you become so strong and fast?"

"Since you are going to die today I may as well tell you. It has something to do with this."

Bella reached out her hand and her katana flew into the tent, the handle lying in her grasp.

"Would you watch where you have that motherfucker fly to? Give a brother a warning is all!" Gavin's voice complained outside.

"A sword?" Edward asked.

"Yep. Catch."

Edward became very excited as Bella tossed the sword to him. He caught it in midair and prepared to strike her down until the sword dropped to the ground the moment his hand wrapped around the handle.

"Heavy thing isn't it?" Bella said and chuckled. Edward watched her reach out her hand and the blade ripped from his grip and landed in hers.

"It's a katana, forged from an unknown element. Only two exist and to wield it you have to be worthy of it. I suppose you aren't worthy."

Bella reached the point up to her left hand.

"Jasper told me how you planned the whole paper cut incident. Now let's see how well you respond to my blood."

Bella pricked her index finger and a drop of blood formed.

Hit with the sudden scent of her blood, his mouth salivated and he jumped over the table towards her.

Only to have Bella use her right hand to shove his face and body through the table, to the ground.

"On your knees." Bella commanded. Edward complied, continuing to look at the ground.

"Look at me. Look me in the eyes."

Edward peered up and met Bella's eyes. They were no longer the unsure and insecure eyes of the girl he knew. Both her hands were wrapped around the handle of the katana.

"Do you know the history of the Samurai? Of course you do. You are so smart. I will tell you a bit about it anyway. I had to learn it as part of my training. Samurai never relied on their swords first, despite what the movies would have you believe. They relied on arrows and then spears first to kill an enemy in battle. You see they believed their soul rested in their blade. To unleash the katana was to unleash their soul."

"I know." Edward whispered, looking at the blade near his neck.

"Edward this is me unleashing my soul."

With a quick swing of Bella's sword, Edward's head hit the ground before he had time to scream. He felt Bella pick his head up and walked him out of the tent. He saw the wolf pack unphased and smirking. He saw Peter and Garrett both smiling. He thought he heard a comment from Peter to Jasper suggesting this probably wasn't the first time Edward had given head. Before he could become angry, Bella turned his face to the roaring fire.

She unceremoniously tossed his head into the flames. Edward felt the flames and the searing pain as his hair lit on fire. The flames licked his cheeks and burned his eyes, causing him to go blind and become lost in pain. Then Edward knew no more. It was time for him to burn in hell.

After this was done, Bella stood and watched as Hawk carried Edward's body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dropped it in the fire.

"So that's done." Bella whispered to herself. She looked to her right and saw Carlisle being let out of his metal prison and led into a tent, Jack Webb's gun pressed to the back of Carlisle's head. He saw Edward's body burning and his eyes were wide.

Bella briefly thought of joining Jason in the tent to discuss business with Dr. Cullen. Instead she walked over to Winter who had been whispering with Leah. Leah saw Bella approach and walk away. Bella knew Jason had apologized to Leah who said nothing, instead choosing to phase and run off. After that Winter had spoken to her. Bella was not sure how that conversation went as they really had not had time to talk about it.

"How's it going?" Bella asked her friend.

"Same old same old. How was killing your ex fiancée?" Winter asked.

"They say when you achieve revenge you usually feel let down or nothing at all. For me at least they were wrong. I feel great. Happy, satisfied, at peace. What about you? Are you at peace?"

Winter shrugged her shoulders.

"I talked to her. I told her all I wanted was a friend and I realized she had to be near me and I didn't mind. I apologized for freaking out and she did as well, although I was the one who lost it."

"What are you planning on doing after the Volturi are gone?"

"What are you talking about?" Winter asked.

"We aren't staying Winter. You know the reason for these swords appearing now is due to something coming. I doubt it was just to kill the Volturi. That may be a part of it but I have a feeling our road isn't coming to an end. Don't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Are you going to be able to function without her near? I need to know. We watch each other's backs. Is being away from her going to cause you to be distracted? Do I need to watch your back more closely? I don't mind. It's just we are partners. Together. I need to know."

Winter sighed.

"Leah wants to come with us. Sam told her she wouldn't be going alone."

"With us? Sam wants to come?"

"No, Jake, Embry and Quil volunteered. Sam plans to talk to Connolly about it."

"I see. Jake wants to come?" Bella asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"He has a girlfriend." Bella pointed out.

"It took him about two seconds to volunteer. I guess he isn't that attached. I wonder why?" Winter asked, looking meaningfully at Bella.

"It's not like that." Bella said quickly.

"Sure. I don't care what he says, he will always love you. But if he is willing to pretend he doesn't that's cool. I just think he is more interested in watching your back than Leah's."

"He is loyal to his pack. He will do his job. That's if Jason lets him come with us. Right now the only place I know we are going after this is Galveston. I don't think wolves swim."

"We are going to need all the help we can get. Sam thinks with our vampires on the land more will phase. He is willing to let those four go."

Bella nodded and looked toward the tent where Connolly had Carlisle bathed in UV rays. Inside Connolly and Ty were enjoying their conversation with the doctor.

"How many people have you killed Dr. Cullen?" Jason asked.

"I save lives."

"How many people you dusted bitch? Don't be playin like you don't know either. Maybe my man Hawk needs to come in here and have another talk with you? He is a big conversationalist." Ty reminded Carlisle.

"Ah so he is the enforcer of your little group?" Carlisle asked Connolly.

"Nope I am. Hawk is in our public relations department. He has great people skills. Now I know you have killed people. I know you kill animals to make your eyes turn gold because humans don't exactly trust a person with red eyes do they?"

"No they don't."

"Why do you even bother Carlisle? Why the doctor charade?"

"What is your name?"

"Connolly."

"Well Connolly, if you must know I like being a doctor. I enjoy having the power of life and death. Deciding who lives and dies without having to worry about burying the bodies. I get a rush out of it. Plus I am known for my compassion. It has also allowed me to build my wealth. That and a psychic vampire can make a man very wealthy. More money than you could imagine."

"I don't have to. We seized all your assets. Jasper was particularly helpful with that. $56 billion. Not bad Dr. Cullen. Not bad at all."

"Thank you. Since you know so much about me why am I still alive?"

"I need something from you. You do this something for me and I let you go. I don't kill you."

"You let me go?" Carlisle asked, disbelieving.

"I give you my word, you do this one thing for me and I let you walk out of this tent a free vampire."

"Why? What is it you want me to do?"

"You gonna make a phone call motherfucker." Ty told him and slid a portable phone across the table.

"And who am I calling?"

"Aro." Jason told him.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because Aro is more valuable to me than you are. Despite your money, you have lost nearly your entire coven. Jasper is with us, Rose, Alice and Edward are dead, Emmett's an idiot and your wife is in a metal coffin outside waiting on your decision."

"What would you like me to say to Aro?"

"Simple. You tell him Bella Swan is back in Forks but is protected by another coven of vampires you don't know. You suspect they plan to turn her. You need help to retrieve her. In return for their help you will give him Edward and Alice to serve them for say …five years."

"He would want more time."

"So give in. They are dead, he doesn't know. If this works I kill the Volturi and you are safe from their wrath. If it doesn't then you are dead anyway. Think about it Carlisle. You know, at least your gut does, that I can hurt vampires. I can kill them. If I don't succeed, without your coven and without Jasper, you will have to rely on any friends you have who might have the balls to stand up to Aro. You got a lot of those?"

Carlisle said nothing. Instead he reached for the phone and dialed.

Connolly heard Aro. The entire team did since Vivian had hacked into the line and was transmitting the conversation to the team.

"Carlisle. I hope you are calling to tell me Edward and Bella have finally wed and she is one of us?"

"No I am afraid not Aro."

"What seems to be the problem Carlisle? I did you a favor because of our friendship by not killing your son and letting Bella Swan walk out of my castle alive. Your daughter gave her word that Bella would be one of us."

"I know Aro. I haven't been completely honest with you. Bella did not just need more time. This was more than a case of cold feet. She executed a well-planned escape from my coven. Somehow she broke the enthrallment Edward had over her. We have been searching for her for the past two years."

"That is very distressing Carlisle. I would suggest you double or triple your efforts at finding her or you will be brought before me to answer for the crimes of your family."

"I realize that Aro. The reason I am calling is I have found her. She has come back anyway. She is back with her father in Forks."

"Then what is the problem? Turn her and bring her to Volterra as proof of your obedience."

"There is a problem. A new coven of vampires has apparently claimed her. Edward attempted to capture her and was driven away, barely escaping with his life. Jasper and Emmett attempted to retrieve her and they were driven back."

"Jasper Whitlock was driven back?" Aro asked doubtfully. "Who are these vampires?"

"I do not know. I have never met or seen them before. But they are powerful and gifted. I fear Rose is dead."

"That is distressing. This seems like a problem for you and your coven. Why are you calling me?"

"Because I need help." Carlisle wasn't exactly lying as he looked at Connolly and the angry black man sitting across from him.

"This is your coven's foul up. Your problem. Why should I risk my guard?"

"I have claimed Isabella Swan and another coven is trying to take her!"

Carlisle calmed himself.

"If you do this I will agree to have Edward and Alice serve you for a period of five years."

"I could kill your coven and take them based on your violations of the law." Aro pointed out. Carlisle had thought of this. Connolly raised his handgun at Carlisle's head and smiled.

"I understand that. But you would have them willingly help you. Once Edward turns Bella she will be forced to serve you. You know Chelsea cannot bind her to you. Only Edward would be able to control her. Without Edward she could drop her shield at a very unfortunate time for you."

"I could take her family and use them as leverage." Aro mused.

"Her parents would kill themselves before they let you use her as leverage. I will kill them myself. I need your help Aro. I am offering you the service of two of my most gifted vampires and Bella Swan as a slave to your bidding. You alone have the power to help me. Yes or no?"

"I will send some emissaries to determine what the situation is. I will decide how strong this mystery coven is and determine what resources are needed to deal with them. I will take Edward, Bella and Alice for a period of twenty years. A small amount of time. Jasper of course is willing to accompany his wife."

"You would decimate my coven for two decades leaving me vunerable!"

"Then you of course may join us."

"Ten years Aro."

"No. I am afraid my offer is firm."

Carlisle was silent for a few moments. Connolly looked at his watch and motioned with his finger to hurry up.

"Fine. You win Aro. My entire coven will come to live in the safety of your compound. I can't risk my family."

"Of course. That will be your decision old friend. I will have a party at your mansion in Forks in three days. Be ready to greet them."

"Of course. Thank you Aro."

"Of course. We are old friends. It will be nice to have you as an ally once again."

Carlisle ended the call and looked at Connolly.

"It's done. May I leave?"

"Don't you want to take your wife?" Jason asked him.

"Yes, I do."

"You may have to carry her. She seems to have fucked up her knees." Ty told him.

"I am free?" Carlisle asked Jason, ignoring Ty.

"As a bird." Jason confirmed.

Carlisle stood trying not to wince at the pain in his abdomen. Without blood he still had not healed completely. His stomach felt like it was burning him from the inside out.

He walked out of the tent and instantly felt better away from the UV lights.

"Let the woman go." Connolly ordered. Webb opened the steel trap Esme had lain in since she arrived. Carlisle walked over and lifted her into his arms, not missing the fact that her lower legs were holding on by a thread.

Carlisle and Esme were surrounded by Garrett, Jasper, Peter, Charlotte and the wolf pack, all of whom were snarling.

Carlisle looked at Connolly, anger covering his face.

"You said we were free!"

"You are." Connolly explained. "You are free to leave. Of course Garrett and Jasper are kind of wild cards and you are in violation of the treaty. You are free to go. Good luck out running them."'

As Carlisle took off in the opposite direction with Esme in his arms, the pack and vampires followed.

Bella walked up to Jason and held his hand.

"Think it will work?"

"Just like we planned darlin. We will send the scouting party back to Italy in pieces with a hand written note from you. Aro will have no choice but to bring his guard here. What do you say we go give Chris a call? See what he has found."

Bella and Connolly walked towards their bunk when they heard two sets of screams, one male and one female.

" I guess they weren't fast enough." Bella said and then laughed.

She laughed so hard she cried.


	17. Chapter 17

Don't own Twilight. The OCs and plot are mine.

A/N I have to say when my wife told me how much a website would cost a month I had reservations. But the site is the most fun I have had in years. She has done a great job making it user friendly and easy to join and navigate. We have 231 members so far which is a lot more than I thought. We also have others posting fanfiction and originals which is awesome. So thanks to all of you who have made this possible. So far I have gotten to blog about the movie Annabelle, my family's true opinion of my suits after wearing them for 6 years (not good) and drug commercials. Ty gets to post and chat too, although Connolly is pushing for his own sign on, since Ty keeps saying Connolly is his sidekick in Bad Company. I'm having a great time. Thanks to those who have joined me in it. Can't wait to see where it goes. I'm hoping it will be on Google in a week or so but you can find it by typing in the address bar www() BeterinTexasfiction ()ning() com.

Yep that is a shameless plug. But it really is a lot of fun. Okay, I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy seeing the death of most of the Cullens. I haven't forgotten about Emmett but I have killed him off so much in the past I might let him live in this story. We got a ways to go though. The battle with the Volturi is going to get rough. Fair warning. Kinda like the battle with the vampire army in La Push in Venom. Chris won't die this time though. Promise. I took enough backlash and death threats for killing him in Venom that he is pretty much immortal in my mind now. I wonder if Ty getting offed would have the same effect on readers. Maybe I will give it a try…

Just kidding. But you should have seen the look on his face when I said that ;)

Chapter 17

_New York_

"This is bad." Father Francis said, walking into the room Chris had been staying in at his church in New York City.

"You are going to have to be more specific. A lot of bad things could be happening now." Chris pointed out.

"I believe I know where the Vatican archives are. The secret ones. The reason so few in the Vatican know about their location is because they aren't under Vatican control and haven't been for some time."

"Okay."

"I was able to find an old Priest who was willing to talk. He explained what we already suspected. After the Library of Alexandria burned, the knowledge was saved. All the knowledge of the ancients. It was placed in the Vatican in secret after being passed down from Christians who saved the scrolls prior to the invasion of Caliph Omar around 600 AD. He is one of the possible men who had the Library burned although the date of the burning is in doubt and who actually caused the fire. This priest swears it is true that the Library was still standing in 600 AD or thereabout."

"Okay. So if the library was burned and the scrolls were eventually passed to the Vatican why doesn't the Vatican have them?"

"King Phillip of France and Pope Clement."

"Ahh shit." Chris said, knowing where this was going.

"Ah shit indeed. Once the orders went out that the Knights Templar were all to be arrested, a few of them took matters in their own hands and stole the scrolls from the Vatican before escaping by ship. They made quite the journey. A few knights testified under duress that the archives were taken by sea to be hid. The Vatican searched for hundreds of years but only recently has discovered the place they think the scrolls are at. By recently I mean 200 years ago."

"If they have suspected where the scrolls are at for two hundred years why in the hell haven't they gotten them?" Chris asked.

"That is the problem. No one has figured out how."

"You're kidding me. The Knights buried the scrolls at Oak Island?!" Chris shouted, feeling dread in his heart.

"It would appear so. There are many Freemason markings on the island. The so called money pit showed evidence of being a man-made trap that flooded after 102 feet. For two hundred years people have tried and failed to find the treasure at the bottom of the pit. There could be no treasure at all. That pit that men have died to get to the bottom of could simply be a red herring. The scrolls could be anywhere on that island. The swamp is most likely man made as are the ducts that lead from the sea under the island."

"The flood tunnels have nothing to do with the flooding of the pit." Chris pointed out. "They aren't even sure that damn thing isn't a natural sinkhole."

"There were wooden platforms all the way down as well as coconut fibers which you know are not native to Canada. It would be nothing for a great sailing vessel to pick up coconuts on the way to finding a perfect spot. Instead of stopping in the Caribbean or the Florida Coast where the humidity and warmth could destroy the scrolls they continued to sail north. The scrolls are somewhere on that island in an underground chamber, sealed off from the world." Francis argued.

"Damn it." Chris muttered. Having a team of Special Forces soldiers who could sneak in and out of any building in the world without a shot being fired would do him no good there. The Templars hid their treasure well.

"Wait a damn minute. Why put the scrolls where no one could reach them?"

"I'm sorry? To keep them safe of course."

"Why? If they wanted them gone they could have burned them. They should have burned them. Instead they undertook a marvelous feat of engineering to hide them. They booby trapped pits and made a swamp. If they never planned to go back to get the archives why bother? The knowledge must have been kept so it could be shared. They would want it back eventually."

"Your point … oh I see." Francis admitted.

"Yep. They wouldn't want to go through their own booby traps to get the scrolls. There must be a back door somewhere on that island."

"If this is so, it is well hidden. People have been searching that island for two centuries and found nothing but a few coins and some bones."

"That's because we haven't looked. Can you fly out to Oak Island?"

"Yes … where are you going?"

"I have to check on my kids, check on these damn gates and figure out a connection to missing bodies and then get to La Push before Aro does. Things are happening fast and if we don't find some answers, we will be powerless to stop them. Get out there and have a look around. Take the tour and research the island. I will be there in a week."

"Consider it done." Francis told him.

Oak Island, Chris thought. It couldn't be easy could it?

_Forks Washington_

"Damn that was some good fried chicken darlin. Best I ever had." Connolly told Bella after finishing his plate. The two had dinner with Charlie tonight. Charlie nodded his head in agreement, food threatening to fall out. Bella had a suspicion that Charlie did not get many meals cooked at home since she left.

"Thanks guys. It felt good to cook in the old kitchen again." Bella admitted.

"I didn't know you could cook like this." Jason complimented her.

"How did you not know? Don't you two live together?" Charlie asked, finally swallowing his food.

"Yeah but …" Jason started.

"We have meals served at the base. Not the best but for the military it's not bad. We eat in the field, usually whatever one of the guys kills, or if there is no wildlife around we eat MREs." Bella explained.

"You eat that crap Bella? You let her eat that crap Jason?"

"Uh …"

"It's fine Dad. We aren't in the field often." Bella told him calmly.

"So you two live in an underwater base huh?"

"Yep." Jason said proudly.

"What is that like Bella? It's got to be dull. I can't imagine there are many windows if any and the Gulf of Mexico has to be muddy."

"Yeah there are no windows Dad." Bella said a bit nervously.

"So what do you do to pass the time?"

"We aren't allowed to talk about that sir." Jason quickly responded. Bella put her head in her hands and groaned.

"What? You said we couldn't talk to him about how we pass our time. You said that!" Jason stressed.

"I read a lot Dad. Go over intelligence reports on vampires, trying to learn things I didn't already know. We also have a training area where we work out. It's not bad." Bella explained hoping Charlie would drop the subject.

"But you two aren't staying there for the long term right? I mean the base is less than five miles from the coast. Couldn't you get a house on the island and boat in?"

Neither said a word until Connolly broke the silence.

"I got her an underwater base. How many boyfriends can say that Charlie? Hell she travels around in the most expensive and most advanced aircraft ever built. We drive Hummers. You know how much the civilians' version cost and those are weak. I'm talking about the real deal here for free."

"I see. Son you got a lot to figure out about women." Charlie wisely noted. "Bella wouldn't you like a house? A home? I mean I know you guys move around a lot but wouldn't it be nice to have a place you can kick your feet up?"

"I don't know … I guess it wouldn't be bad." Bella admitted.

"It wouldn't?" Jason asked.

"No, I mean for me. I know how you feel … I think."

"Uh we actually haven't been going out that long. Don't you have to be dating for a specified period of time like a year?" Connolly asked, beginning to panic.

"You telling me you two aren't sharing a bunk now?"

Bella's blush gave Charlie all the answer he needed.

"Yep. So if you have basically been living together in small quarters wouldn't it be nice to have a bigger place?"

"It wouldn't be bad." Bella said quietly, looking at her plate.

"It wouldn't? I mean it wouldn't." Jason agreed.

"Besides you two may want to have kids one day and will need the bedrooms." Charlie pointed out, enjoying how uncomfortable Connolly was. Payback was a bitch.

"Kids? Small people? You mean living with us? In the same area?" Jason asked, just to be clear.

"Yeah. That's the general idea. You should probably think about getting your own cars too. Can't drive Hummers forever."

"Yes we can. The President said so." Jason told Charlie quickly.

"I wouldn't mind it. Something that gets more than ten miles to the gallon." Bella agreed.

"We don't have to pay for gas." Connolly stressed.

"Then you could have your own kitchen Bella. Not have to eat in a mess hall. Jason is a helluva cook too judging by the breakfast he made the other day at Emily and Sam's. The two of you could go shopping at some of those home décor megastores and pick out comforters and drapes. Jason you could hang your medals over the fireplace. Get you a bannister for the fireplace so one day you can put the kids and grandkids pictures up. Of course you still have marriage to think about first."

"Marriage? Bella isn't a big fan of marriage, on account of you and Renee's divorce and all and I'm not a huge fan of it either. I figure if two people love each other that ought to be … what? I can't talk about their divorce either?!" Connolly asked Bella who was staring at him with wide eyes that begged him to shut the hell up.

"It's fine son. I realize Bella isn't a fan of marriage. Right Bella?"

"No, I guess not. I mean one day, with the right person maybe I could see it."

"Right person? I'm the right person!"

"I didn't say you weren't. But you know, you could get killed or something. I mean let's face it, with our lives it's possible."

"So you would marry a guy after I died? That's fucked up Bella. You hate the idea of marriage with me but you would do it after I die. Nice."

"You hate the idea of marriage too! That's all I'm saying."

"True, but I wouldn't marry some woman if you died. That's all I'm saying."

"But you wouldn't marry me?" Bella asked.

"You said you hated marriage! Do I need Vivian to play back the conversation? You know that bitch records everything!"

Charlie could barely hold the grin off his face due to how uncomfortable the two were. Not worried about how often you get intimate with my daughter now, are you Connolly?

"No. I did say that, but I can change my mind. If I wanted to get married one day would you?"

"I would do anything for you." Jason told her.

"For me. But would you want it?"

"Yes. I guess. I mean I don't want to go to a drapes store and the idea of having kids freaks me the hell out but yeah, I would want to marry you one day."

"Bullshit. You don't have the guts. Charging a machine gun nest or a coven of vampires? No problem for you. The mention of kids and marriage and you are retreating." Bella pointed out.

"Don't call bullshit on me. I didn't know we were playing that game. I would damn well marry you and have as many kids as you want."

"Liar."

"We get through the possessed zombie demons and evil souls and stop those gates from getting tore down and I will marry you. Watch me!"

"You wouldn't dare." Bella challenged him.

"Watch me." Connolly told her, eyes never wavering.

"Who the hell said I would marry you?" Bella asked.

"What the fuck have we just been talking about!?"

"I guess you guys need a little more time to think about it." Charlie said with a straight face. Then it hit him.

"Did you say possessed zombie demons?"

"Can't talk about it Charlie." Jason said quickly.

"I thought I could hear all about this stuff since my daughter is involved."

"Yeah well since I can't talk about our sex life except in certain situations that need to be approved beforehand then I guess I better start keeping shit to myself."

"Jason has a theory that Aro has been keeping the bodies of his victims on ice so they can be possessed by the spirits Chris is worried about." Bella explained.

"We get intimate every chance we get Charlie." Jason told Charlie and glared at Bella.

"I doubt that will be the case tonight son. You may know fifty ways to klill a man with a spoon but you got a lot to learn about women. I did too. That's why I'm divorced and still single at my age. So start learning. First thing you need to do is think about moving my daughter somewhere other than a submarine."

Neither said anything. Bella finally reached over and gently kissed Jason.

"You're an idiot you know that?"

"Yeah but I'm your idiot." Jason told her with a smile.

Charlie cleared his throat.

"So you two gonna stay here tonight or you going back to the camp site?"

"I would like to stay here if it's alright with you Dad."

"Always your home Bella. I won't bother to ask you to sleep in a different bed Jason. I don't imagine I would hear you anyway would I?"

"I am good at operating silent in the dark." Jason admitted.

"Okay. That's settled. So how badly is my house going to be torn up after this little Volturi business?"

"No worries Charlie. We plan to greet them at the Cullen mansion. Now who is up for a little after dinner SportsCenter?"

Charlie agreed that it sounded like a hell of a plan while Bella groaned. Jason picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. They both dropped to the couch and she broke out in laughter as Connolly began to tickle her ribs.

Charlie pretended not to watch but couldn't help the smile on his face. Yeah the boy had a lot to learn about women but he had an idea Connolly was a quick study.

_La Push Washington_

"Are you sure about this?"

"You said you wanted to help us train, right Quil? So help us out brotha. Takin out guys holding hostages is an important skill. You just stand in front of this card board guy and stand very still." Ty told him, in his calmest voice.

"Okay. How far away are you going to be?"

"Only about 600 yards. Easy shot. Webb is gonna be about 750 yards away. His shot is gonna be a bit trickier with the wind. King is behind you. He has a 400 yard shot. Piece of cake. I think. I honestly don't know how good a shot he is but I guess we will find out."

"You guys are going to take turns?" Quil practically whimpered.

"Nah man. We are shooting at the same time. Relax. We are professionals. You are in good hands. Worst that could happen is we don't get a clean shot and shoot through your shoulder to hit the guy in the heart. You guys are fast healers right?"

"Hold on a damn minute!"

"I'm just fuckin with you Quil. Now for God's sake man, don't move."

Ty walked off to his perch and climbed the nearest tree, propping his rifle on a branch and curling his large frame into as small an area as possible.

"Webb do you have lock?"

"Affirmative. You sure this guy isn't gonna move?"

"Nah. He might piss his little denim shorts but that's all. King you got lock from the back?"

"Yes. I'm locked on the back of the head, right side."

"Alright. This tall motherfucker is only givin us an inch on either side for a head shot. I got right, Webb you got left and King match my shot on the right bout a half second behind. Somebody put the ketchup packet on the back?"

"Yeah I got it." Webb said smiling. "King you hit the target he is gonna get red."

"I can't miss it."

"Wind is kicking up from the South, Webb. On my count gentleman. 3…2…1…"

Three shots fired at the human sized target behind Quil.

Quil pissed his pants when the bullets whizzed past his ears.

He opened his eyes and screamed, seeing the blood on his shoulder.

Quil dropped to the ground, afraid he had been shot. Paul walked up and wiped the 'blood' off Quil's shoulder and licked it.

"Hunts Ketchup. My favorite."

Quil sniffed and realized it was ketchup on his shoulder. He turned and saw the target had two holes. He heard the laughter in the woods.

"Which one of you fuckers missed?!" Quil asked, not happy.

"None of them. King shot through the hole Gavin made about a half second later. If he didn't the bullets would have met each other and shattered near your ear. That would have hurt a bit." Connolly explained. "Thanks for your help Quil. We usually can't get live hostages. Nobody is stupid enough to let us practice. You showed a lot of guts. Now go change your shorts before you start to smell worse."

Quil walked off silently. He decided it would be best to change his pants.

"That was mean." Bella said, patting Connolly on his ass as she walked up.

"He volunteered." Jason pointed out.

"It was pretty funny though. Whose idea was the Ketchup packet?"

"Ty."

"Figures."

"Hey Bella can I practice on you?" Clive asked.

"Fuck you Clive."

"I take that as a no or an offer. You Yanks vernacular confuses me at times."

"I'll fuck you up Clive." Jason said without turning.

"That I understood. So what is the plan for our visitors Lt.?"

"Yes. I am kinda curious where you have me, Garrett, Peter and Char set up." Jasper mentioned appearing out of nowhere.

"You guys are going to be with the wolves, circling the area. Anybody gets past us he or she is yours." Jason told him.

"Why? Why are you keeping us back? I've been killing vampires a lot longer than you Jason. Why risk your team?"

"I'm not risking my team. We can do this on our own. I want you guys kept secret until it is time to let the secret be known. I have no idea if anyone else would be watching. If I were Aro I would hold someone back to watch what happens and report back. If that is the case it will be bad if the guy gets away. It will be worse if he gets away and tells Aro about you guys and the wolves. Our advantage would be completely gone. Not something I want to happen. You stay hidden and do not attack unless you are sure you have a clean kill."

Jasper nodded, not happy but seeing the wisdom in his plan.

"Besides those fuckers are never making it out of their car." Connolly told him.

"How do you plan to accomplish that?"

"I'm going to have six or so machine guns dropping a thousand rounds into it and then Hawk is going to hit it with an RPG."

"That would definitely do it." Jasper admitted.

_The next night. Cullen Mansion._

The Volturi guard pulled up to the Cullen Mansion very alert. Aro only sent these four and they were not happy about it. Jane or Alec or both usually came on missions like this.

"What is that?" Diego asked.

"What …oh shit. What the hell do they think they are doing?" Felix asked, seeing the black clad humans who seemed to materialize out of the dark.

"No idea. Shall we say hello?" Diego asked, grinning.

The grin left his face when the sound of gunfire erupted. Bullets tore through the car and through the vampires. Automatic weapons that had rounds that were shredding the Volturi.

The screams could be heard over the gunfire.

"Hawk you're up." Connolly shouted. Hawk walked out from the side of the large house with a sadistic smile on his face. The vampires, tore to pieces inside and leaking blood and venom saw the man and knew the end was here.

Hawk fired the RPG into the car and the Volturi burned.

Connolly, Ty and Webb pulled their masks off, Bella and Winter did the same, the automatic weapons in their hands smoking.

"That was easy." Webb mused.

"Too easy. It shouldn't have been that easy." Connolly said uneasily.

"It was your plan. You said it would be a piece of cake." Ty pointed out.

"Yeah but I didn't think it would actually work. Bella did you feel any gifts from these guys?"

"None that they tried to use. I had you guys covered." Bella said confidently.

"That makes no sense. I figured he wouldn't send any of his valuable weapons but these guys were sent in with no help to find out about a coven that supposedly drove back Jasper. What did Aro hope to accomplish?"

"You sure you just ain't disappointed that you didn't get to fight more Jay?" Ty asked.

"No. Maybe. Something isn't right."

"No shit." Vivian's voice broke in. "I got a heat signature running at 90 degrees and going about twenty miles an hour in the forest to the North heading towards Forks."

"Fuck. Dante can you track from the sky?"

"We're on it." Winter told him and she and Bella took off in a run towards the woods.

"Wait!"

It was too late. The girls were gone.

"Sir I am right over his location but I can't see shit."

"Tree cover? Go to thermal and bomb the fucker."

"He is weaving through the wolves and Jasper's crew. I hit him I hit them."

"Can he see them?"

"He can probably smell them. He is moving."

"Vivian block cell towers for a hundred miles."

"I did that thirty seconds ago."

"Dante as soon as he is away from our guys blow him to hell. I don't give a damn how many trees you kill. Bella, Winter, back off. He has too much of a head start!"

"They are actually right behind him Connolly." Vivian informed the group. "He is out of range of our team but the girls are right behind him."

Bell and Winter ran but could not see anything. They heard Vivian say the vampire was just in front of them. The two weaved in and out of trees hoping to catch him on both sides.

"He stopped, forty feet away Bella." Vivian informed her.

Bella and Winter skidded to a stop.

Peering through the dark neither could see anything.

"Winter you see him?"

"Nope."

"Summer?"

"Nope. If she does she isn't telling me."

Bella and Winter quieted.

"He's invisible." Bella whispered.

"Yep. Aro sent him to watch the guard and see what happened." Winter whispered back.

Both went quiet.

"He is walking towards the two of you." Vivian said more calmly than she felt.

Bella and Winter listened and both drew their swords.

There. A footstep on the leaves on the ground. Bella closed her eyes and listened.

She heard the footsteps running towards her. He was attacking.

Bella threw her sword at the sound, eyes still closed.

She was rewarded with a scream. Opening her eyes she saw the vampire with her sword stuck through his chest. Pulling the sword out he dropped it and ran. Winter tossed her sword at his feet and it stuck in the vampires thigh. He pulled it out, but it was too late. The girls tackled him. Trying to toss them off he rolled. Bella's sword shot to her hand and she wrapped the blade under his neck and pulled from behind, beheading him while Winter struck her blade in his face.

Both girls fell off of him onto their back on the ground and caught their breath.

"That was close." Bella whispered.

"Bella are you okay?!" Connolly practically screamed over the radio.

"Yep. Great."

"I'm good too Lt. Commander asshole." Winter said in her com.

"You got a lighter?" Bella asked.

"You are the one who smoked. You didn't bring one?"

"I quit remember? Thank God I did. I would hate to try to run like that if I was still smoking. I would have stopped about a hundred yards away from the mansion in pain."

"I have a lighter." Garrett's voice said quietly from behind a tree.

"What the hell are you doing here? Didn't Connolly say to hold back?" Winter asked, turning on the ground to look at the vampire.

"He told you two to stop chasing the vampire. Looks like we all have problems with orders. I thought the two of you may need help. I see I wasn't needed. Very impressive."

"Thanks."

"Bella perhaps when you realize Connolly isn't good for you the two of us could…"

"Go fuck yourself Garrett." Bella told him flipping off the ground and landing on her feet.

"What the hell Garrett? Am I not attractive enough for you to come onto?" Winter asked.

"I was under the impression you were anti penis dear."

"Good impression." Winter agreed.

After Garrett lit up the vampire, the three walked back to the mansion. Connolly met them halfway and his team followed. He grabbed Bella in his arms and pulled her closely.

"Damn it girl! Why couldn't you have waited?"

"No time and you guys were too slow. Besides I didn't want to see these beautiful trees get killed for nothing. You couldn't have gotten a clear shot. Face it, we were your only option."

"Did I hear you say he was invisible?"

"Yep."

"How did you two kill him?" Ty asked.

"We closed our eyes and listened. You could learn a thing or two from us grasshopper." Winter said with a straight face.

The team walked back to the mansion flanked by the wolf pack who had stayed nearby. After phasing and dressing at the mansion Leah ran to Winter and wrapped her in her arms.

"God I was worried about you." She whispered in her ear, not letting her go.

"Hey this is what we do. No worries." Winter assured her.

"Stay with me tonight? Please?"

"Okay." Winter told her, the pleading in Leah's voice causing her to go against her better judgement.

The two looked up and saw everyone was watching them.

"Damn that's hot. Can I stay too?" Hawk asked.

A few laughs filled the clearing.

"Okay. What do you say we head back to our camp? I'm in the mood for grilling. I'm thinking burgers. Vampires go find you some animals to drink or something. Jasper can show you how I'm assuming."

All nodded at Connolly's suggestion and the group made their way towards the Hummers parked in the back yard.

Unfortunately not even Vivian's thermal imaging could pick up the slight heat signature masked by the water of the river. The vampire's head barely peaked over the waterline and he did not see what happened to his comrade in the forest but he did see two girls take off at vampire speed to catch him. Judging by the laughter he heard not he had to assume the girls caught him. He was also fairly certain one of the girls was Bella Swan. He had seen enough. He would wait until they were gone and use the river to mask his escape to the ocean. Once he reached Seattle he would contact Aro with the bad news.

Humans had discovered how to kill vampires.

This changed everything.


	18. Chapter 18

Don't own the Twilight characters in this story. The rest are disasters from my imagination.

A/N Sorry. I know. Where the hell have you been? My apologies. I never had any idea doing this website would take so much time. The site has grown in a couple weeks to have 350 members and not only original works but fanfiction from other writers including Twilight, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Firefly, Riddick, and Glee which I have never seen but is apparently pretty popular. I have gotten caught up in the spirit of things and started two originals in addition to Chasing Bella and this one. I also wrote a pretty long one shot that has nothing to do with the supernatural. My wife has been putting together sections like places where members can post artwork like banners and photographs and sections where people can write Halloween one shots. Hence my new editor/wife/boss has told me I needed to write a Halloween one shot. I told her I wasn't really good with prompts and she told me to get good. So yeah… guess I will be doing that.

I am most proud that I have two writers that have never written before, one original and one Twilight who are writing amazing stories. Anyway remember when I told you my computer crashed? Yeah, haven't gotten it fixed yet or gotten a new one so my wife is beginning and running a website and I am writing four stories and we are sharing one computer. My bad. Also because of the time the site is taking I will be updating Chasing Bella on there until it is done. I will continue to post chapters here on ffnet as I can. Hopefully I will get a new computer this coming week and updates will happen more often.

I have to say talking to readers and interacting with them on the forum board and chat room especially debating Australian Rules Football compared to American Football with members from down under and comparing how people grill in the UK to the US and Texas. I also love having a place to remind Seattle readers as I did Sunday that the Seahawks may have won the Superbowl last year but God is a Cowboys fan. We just haven't been very good the last couple decades as punishment for Jerry Jones sins against football. Looks like the penance is over though!

I have had some PMs asking for the address of the site and I will try to get to those today. Here is the address if you are wondering. () are where the dots go.

Betterintexasfiction() ning () com. Hope to see you there. I'll try to do better about updates ;)

Chapter 18

_Off the coast of Oak Island._

Father Francis had not had much luck. He took Chris's suggestion to take the tour of the island only to find there was no tour. Instead a fresh group of treasure hunters had obtained permits and were positive like so many others before them, that they would be the one to find Captain Kidd's treasure.

Or Blackbeard's.

Possibly the Holy Grail or the lost works of Shakespeare, thought to prove that Sir Francis Bacon was the actual author of so many great works that William Shakespeare claimed.

Perhaps at the bottom of the shaft waited Marie Antoinette's lost crown jewels.

Perhaps Spanish treasure.

The theories were numerous but Francis knew the truth. The hidden treasure was the lost knowledge of the library of Alexandria housed in the Vatican for so many years until the Knights Templar were betrayed by the church they fought to preserve.

Hidden here for centuries.

What Francis did not know was how to find the archives or where exactly they were.

He suspected they were nowhere near the so called money pit. It had to be a ruse. Even if there was a concrete room at the bottom of the pit as many believed it had to be a red herring. The Knights would not go to this much trouble to hide priceless knowledge and leave a block and tackle over it.

No the money pit was the trap. A shiny lure to draw men in and have them chase a treasure that was not there perhaps dying in the process.

The stone triangle. The huge boulders laid out in perfect distances from each other to form a large cross. The indecipherable stones that had been discovered, the man made beach and swamp. The keys for future generations of Knights to retrieve the knowledge.

Unfortunately because of the ongoing treasure hunt no one was allowed on the island. The causeway had been blocked and there were rumors of security sweeping the island at night. It seemed a bit extreme considering the odds of these men having the right equipment to find the treasure and their focus on the money pit would doom them to failure as it had so many men before.

He had promised Chris he would scout out the island. The priest thought it would be a simple task. The men assigned to face the threat that was coming sooner than expected flew UFOs for God's sake. It would be a simple matter to use the technology at the United States disposal and find the archives in hours instead of the well over one hundred years of treasure hunting that had already taken place.

Oak Island however was a Canadian province. As his old friend Dave pointed out, he did not want to be known as the first President to invade Canada to recover a legendary treasure not on American soil.

This led the priest to his present location, on a small boat floating just off the shoreline.

This was a bad idea.

"You sure this is a good idea Father?" Ben asked. Ben was a good Catholic and had been an altar boy as a child. He was eager to help the priest but had reservations.

"Of course this is a good idea son. I am simply going for a midnight swim."

"You are going scuba diving in the dark." Ben pointed out unnecessarily.

"Yes I realized that when I put the air tank on."

"How much experience do you have diving?"

"I was a Navy Seal." Francis told him proudly. "I served with the President of the United States."

"Father no offense but how long ago was that?"

"A while ago." Francis admitted, "No worries though. It is a skill you never forget."

"The currents around the island are bad. Easy to get caught up in them. Plus there are the five finger drains. The attempts to seal them never last long, but they have made a helluva mess down there. It would be real easy to get caught up in. You get sucked down by a current or stuck in one of those drains which I am assuming you want to see, you might not make it back."

"I assure you I do not plan to take a close look at the drains."

"Then why would … you are going on the island. Father there is security all over that place."

"I'm good at being covert."

"Just be careful."

"God goes with me son. Now make sure you don't leave me. I may be gone for a few hours. Perhaps not until sunrise. If I am not her by sunrise you may leave. I will find my way out."

"How will I know you made it onto the island?"

"Have a little faith."

Francis placed the regulator in his mouth and leaned back into the water.

Soon memories rushed back to him, gliding underwater in the darkness, feeling the ebb and flow of the ocean, preparing to invade a land he did not belong in but planned to enter regardless. He had made peace with himself and God over the men he had to kill when he served. He did not miss the violence of his youth.

Still he missed this.

Turning on his underwater light he realized instead of moving towards the island he was moving away. Apparently caught in a current he was moving quickly to the Southwest end of the island towards Smith's cove. The compass on his dive watch confirmed what he felt.

Francis originally planned to surface on the Northeast side of the Island in the wooded area far from the money pit and Smith's cove. The woods would provide him cover from the roving patrols, he was certain he could out maneuver in the dark and the oak trees.

He fought against the currents but quickly realized years of standing at the pulpit had not prepared his body for this.

Francis decided he would be surfacing at Smith's Cove. He did not have the oxygen to fight the current and go back to the Northeast as planned by swimming around the South side.

Preparing to fight the current from the side, he jerked to a sudden stop.

His right fin was stuck. Turning his light he saw it was wedged between to obviously man made boards sunk into the bottom.

This must be on of the remains of the attempt to dam off the five finger drains by the Truro Company in 1850 or perhaps one of the later unsuccessful attempts to try and tame the ocean. Over the years the boards littered the bottom near the island.

Francis did not panic. He reached down and attempted to jerk his foot free. Unfortunately his foot was stuck perfectly by his thrusts and had wedge deeply between the boards.

After ten minutes of trying to work his foot out, he was beginning to panic. Checking his gauge he saw he had less than two minutes of oxygen and was taking deep breaths due to his exertions.

Francis began to pray.

He could see the surface less than ten yards above him.

It may as well have been ten miles.

The boards split and his foot was free.

Turning he saw a figure that nearly made him scream underwater. A face.

He felt arms around his waist and the two figures shot to the surface. Francis spit out his regulator and took deep breaths. He prepared to swim but soon found he didn't have to. Quicker than he could imagine he was being pulled around through the water on top of what he now felt was a very large man. Within minutes they were surfacing on the Northeast end of the island.

Francis dropped his now nearly empty tank. Taking off his mask he took in the very large man in front of him, at least 6'6 and solid muscle.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome Father. Sorry it took me so long to get here. A friend of Jasper and Garrett who I believe you know, named Peter felt you would be in danger underwater. I happened to be in the area and watched you dive. I lost you for a bit. I suppose Peter's feeling was right. You looked to be in a jam."

"I literally was. You are … a vampire?"

"Yes. My name is Emmett Cu … my name is Emmett."

Emmett. Where had Father Francis heard that …

Oh dear.

"I see. You are a part of Carlisle Cullen's coven?"

"No need for your heart to race Father. I felt the connection break when he died. I am no longer bound to him. I deeply regret I ever was."

Francis believed honesty would be best in this situation, not knowing how much the man knew.

"Do you also realize that your wife …"

"My brother Jasper explained some things to me. I had suspected her for years but never wanted to believe that she was … it doesn't matter."

"It matters very much."

"She tried to kill Bella. The girl never did anything to us. Carlisle and Edward … I thought Rose … and … it's a long story. When Jasper told me what was going on I didn't want to believe it. But I did. I knew it in my heart."

"Would you like to talk about it Emmett?" Francis asked.

"I'm sure you didn't risk death to listen to my problems Father."

"Perhaps this was why I foolishly risked death tonight. I need a break and I believe we have six hours until sunrise. Why don't I take a breather and you can talk, I will listen. Then we will start solving a riddle together."

Emmett smiled. For the first time in a long time he truly felt like unburdening his soul.

"I will help you Father. I'm afraid you will have to be the brains and I will be your muscle."

"I think you are much smarter than anyone has ever acknowledged and perhaps you have forgotten this. We will figure this out together, but first we talk."

Emmett and Francis sat under a tree on the ground.

And Emmett talked.

_Forks, Washington_

Bella leaned back in the tub enjoying the hot water and the feeling on her leg. Jason and Bella had agreed much to Jason's consternation, to have dinner with Jake and his girlfriend. Instead of preparing at the camp site, Jason had rented a room at the Forks Inn for the night. Both could use the break.

Now Bella's right foot was on his shoulder as he sat in the other end of the large bathtub and rubbed shaving lotion over her leg.

"That feels so good." she said with a sigh.

"Yeah it does. Better than my knife?"

"Lotion helps." Bella admitted. "Still you never forget the first time a man shaves your legs."

She relaxed and fought the urge to straddle him or at least squeeze her legs together while he glided the razor in long strokes up and down her leg, going to the top of her thigh and stopping. There were some areas Bella did not trust anyone but herself with a razor.

Too soon he moved to her left leg and she slipped a hand between her legs.

"Can't wait darlin?" Jason asked smirking.

"Don't worry. You will be well taken care of." she assured him.

After her left leg was as smooth as her right, she slid up his body and straddled him, gasping as he entered her. She slowly began rocking her hips while his hands gripped her ass cheeks. Running her hands over his smooth chest she had shaved to his chagrin the day before, Bella pinched his nipples causing him to thrust harder.

Her mouth attacked his neck, sucking and licking alternately. His grip tightened.

The water began splashing on the floor. Their mouths found each other and tongues intertwined.

Jason lifted her up slightly and dropped his head finding her left nipple, hard and pointed, sucking hard.

They both came at the same time and Bella collapsed against his chest.

"Damn baby."

"Yeah." he agreed.

The two pressed against each other while trying to catch their breaths.

"We could stay here all night. I can do this all night. We don't have to leave."

"I'm hungry." Bella complained.

"I'll order pizza."

"We said we would be there."

"You said we would be there."

"Exactly. We said we would be there."

"Okay." Jason told her, giving up.

"Besides the sooner we get this done the sooner we can get back and you can show me if you can really do this all night." she whispered in his ear.

"What are we waiting on? So does Jake's girlfriend know that he is probably leaving with his two wingmen and his lesbian she wolf to hang with us for God knows how long?"

"I don't know. It may be awkward if she does. I hope Jake didn't tell her. I'm tired of awkwardness."

"I completely agree. I will avoid the subject at all costs. Don't want any awkwardness." Jason agreed.

Two hours later sitting in the Forks Diner across Jake and Kacee Bella could not help but feel this was very awkward.

"So I understand Jake will be going with your little army team watching Leah's back?" Kacee asked.

"Yeah we are still talking about the details and whether that is necessary. We know how important Jake is to the tribe so …" Jason tried.

"It's also important that our pack protects each other. Sam is Alpha and needed here." Jake countered.

"I just didn't realize you were so protective over … Leah, Jake. Doesn't she have Bella's sword buddy to watch out for her?"

"Good lord why don't we start giving press releases to CNN and Fox on our actions and information Jake?" Jason told him, annoyed.

"She knows about the pack. She has as much right to know as Charlie or any other bystander caught up in this mess." Jake responded.

"I'm a bystander?"

"So how did you two meet?" Bella asked, desperate to change the subject.

Kacee took a bite of her salad, and then addressed Bella.

"A friend told me Jake was a really good mechanic and didn't charge as much as most garages. I took my car to his house to ask him about a knocking noise and a hesitation in the engine. He sort of just charmed me after that. Two weeks later I came to visit him and he wasn't home so I decided to waste time by hiking in the forest. I am kind of an outdoorsy girl. Not clumsy at all. No problem walking around the woods." Kacee pointed out, looking straight at Bella.

"Of course I ran into a beautiful blonde haired woman with red eyes in the forest. I suppose she had seen me at Jake's and followed me. Jake saved me. Of course you know about that right Bella? Jake saving you?"

"Why don't you go fu…" Bella started before Jason interrupted.

"So you two have been going out for a couple months?"

"Yeah. Something like that." Jake said looking at the table top with his hands folded.

"So you two fight vampires? I hear you have killed quite a few."

"Yeah we have killed quite a few, made deals with others. Done some other ops." Jason said also looking at the table.

"Like what?" Jake asked. "I mean the other ops."

"Just standard stuff. Killing Drug Cartel leaders and taking their heads, things of that nature. Sometimes certain team members seduce billionaire playboy rapists, drug them and hang them by their ankles out of penthouse suites without notifying the commanding officer of the team beforehand."

"Are you talking about the Israeli girl? She seems like the type who would seduce someone pretty easily and drug the guy." Jake said with a smile.

"I was talking about Bella actually." Jason smiled in return.

Silence descended once again.

"So Bella you never went to college right? You had to hide from the vampire you dated and allowed to drink your blood? Any plans to ever go to school?"

"I've been busy." Bella said, already annoyed that Jason had interrupted her suggestion for Kacee.

"I'm going to Port Angeles Community College. I considered staying around and taking online courses but since Jake is planning on joining the military I will probably transfer to UW."

"Bella you seduced a guy and … what do you mean drug cartels? I thought you guys killed vampires?"

"No Jake, we kill the occasional person sometimes." Bella told him.

"You've killed people Bella?" he asked, trying to hide the shock from his voice.

"Yep. Shot a guard and cut off the fucking leader's head off."

"Wh… why?"

"I was tired and ready to leave." Bella said to Jake, glaring at Kacee.

"College is overrated." Jason mentioned, hoping to help and change the subject.

"Why do you say that?" Kacee asked, pulling her suddenly very wary eyes from Bella.

"I have a degree. It was a waste of time."

"I think education is very important." Kacee countered.

"Don't get me wrong. It's good for some people. It just doesn't give you all the answers like college students seem to think. I mean what are you studying?"

"I plan to go to law school. I want to become a district attorney. I believe in the judicial system. For instance arresting the heads of drug cartels and letting the established system of justice take process rather than beheading them." Kacee explained, once again looking at Bella.

"Why don't you go fu…" Bella started before Jason once again interrupted her.

"See that's what I'm talking about right there."

"Please explain?" Kacee asked, irritated.

"You will go to college, then you plan to spend a few years in law school. You seem like a smart person so you will learn everything about criminal law. But it won't really mean shit."

"I don't think that's necessary…" Jake began.

"No offense. I mean that. It's just you want to fight crime and go after bad guys. But you don't understand what you are going against. Yeah you will put away some low level drug dealers and a couple gang bangers who are violent little shits and need to be locked in a box. But the really bad guys? They have money, the y have influence and you will never be able to touch them. My team? We touch hard. We are effective against criminals a district attorney wouldn't dream about. How can you ever understand murder if you aren't in close quarters with a truly evil bastard trying to gut you and the only opportunity you have to survive is to use your fingers to strike hard enough to break the soft skin around the adam's apple, grab his trachea and pull it out of his throat. You go through that and then talk to me about due process. That's the kind of shit you will never learn in law school."

Silence once again descended on the table. The married couple at the table next to theirs enjoying dinner with their two young children were now staring at the four. The man asked for the check.

"So what kind of TV shows do you like to watch Kacee?" Jason asked.

"I … I don't really know." she whispered, clearly shaken.

"I don't know how that salad is but this is a great cheeseburger. Don't you think darlin?"

"Yeah. It's great." Bella agreed. "We should probably finish up and get back to the hotel."

"You guys won't be at the base tonight?" Jake asked.

"Jesus Jake." Kacee said, standing and walking out.

"I uh … I guess I better go."

"No worries Jake. She probably just can't wait to get you alone. We got the check buddy. Have fun tonight. I hope we can do this again. It was fun."

Jason and Bella sat at the table alone and finished their dinner.

"So that went well huh?"

"Take me to the bedroom and take me. I should have listened to you. Pizza would have definitely been better." Bella admitted.

_Volterra, Italy_

Aro was greatly disturbed. After telling his Master what he had learned his Master was very silent.

"So Bella Swan has replaced the dead sister. Two will face me once again. This time you will not fail though. They will not stop you. You will break the seven gates and provide me with the army I need. I will not be kept here."

"What would you have me do? The seventh gate is protected. I cannot go near it. The guardians will stop me. They will stop my guard. Without a shield I nor my guard will stand a chance."

"You are a coward! I care nothing for your guard. They are a tool."

"An ineffective tool against the guardians. My guard cannot fight if they cannot move. There is no limit to their power."

"There is always a limit. The twins were strong, as quick as your kind. But they are human. Jane was able to kill one. They are not immortal. You will simply need more vampires. Throw wave after wave at the guardians."

"They can make fears come to life. Paralyze …"

"I know what they can do! You will turn hundreds, thousands if need be. You will tunnel and outflank them, you will overcome them by brute force. You will do whatever is necessary. The time of my escape is near. I need an army to stop the twins. Now you tell me they have humans that can help them. Humans who have figured out how to kill your kind. Your vampire smelt wolves, and other vampires, traitors to your kind. I have no idea if they know about the gates weakening from the other side. I have no idea if the twins know about me. I have to assume they must. They must be killed."

"I understand."

"Do what is necessary Aro. I have shown you Hell. Do you wish to continue your life or be tortured for eternity?"

"I wish to continue to live."

"As I have no plans to stay here for another thousand years."

"I can still turn Bella Swan. If she is human I can still turn her."

"Do what you must. I want you to begin turning newborns. I want those gates destroyed. They have to be broken from within and without. This must happen."

"If the humans know about the gates they will be waiting for us. The gates already have so much protection, this will be even more of a challenge. Even masses of newborns may not be enough."

"Send Caius to attack the humans. They are in a wooded area. Attack at night through the dense forest. He will have the advantage. They will most likely plan to trap you once again. This time you will be prepared."

"Even if Caius attacks in the forest these men can kill from a distance."

"They are only men. They have developed ammunition to kill your kind. You do not need ammunition developed. The weapons to kill humans are easily obtained."

"Attack with human weapons?" Aro asked doubtfully.

"Yes. You are stronger, faster. The terrain will work in your favor. Use all the weapons you need. Use your gifted guard to destroy the vampires and wolves with them. Kill them all. Turn Bella Swan if you are able and kill the other twin. If you cannot turn Bella Swan you will kill her."

"I understand. I will lead the charge personally."

"No you will not. You have newborns to change. Keep Chelsea with you. Bond the newborns to yourself. Begin destroying the gates. The humans will be busy being slaughtered while you are completing your mission. You have a week. The first gates will be easy. Take three with you including Chelsea and begin."

"They are still dangerous …"

"Then be courageous! You want to rule by my side, did you not consider their might be risks? I need my army. Make it happen. I have given you power and strength. Did you think I did this for you and your pleasures? What I have given you can be taken away. Never forget that. Now be gone. Speak to Caius. I believe he has weapons to obtain. Attack as soon as possible and begin planning for the first two gates. Begin turning newborns as soon as you have them destroyed. Make it happen, Aro. My time has come. Not God, not Lucifer, nothing can stop me. They may have domain of Heaven and Hell but the Earth will be mine."

_La Push, Washington_

Winter woke up feeling the familiar warm arms wrapped around her. For the past three nights since the attack on the Volturi, she has stayed at Leah's insistence. The two lay on the bed with each other, fully clothed, talking deep into the night until they both feel asleep. Every morning Winter woke up curled in Leah's arms.

She smiled and gently moved Leah's arm from her waist to slide out of bed and go to the restroom.

Leah's hand stopped her. She turned over and saw Leah was awake.

"I lied to you."

Winter's heart stopped. After all they had told each other the past three nights what could Leah have lied about?

"I told you I had never been attracted to women. I lied. Before … before I met Sam I was attracted to women. I was too embarrassed and afraid to say anything. My family … my parents are elders. They are respected in the community. I didn't want to tell anyone.

Then Sam became interested and I thought I had my answer. He was handsome and smart, going to college on a scholarship. Everyone knew he was going places. So I did what I thought I should. What a daughter from my family would be expected to do. I returned his interest. I don't know if I ever loved him. I had sex with him. I did whatever he wanted or what I thought was expected. He was a great guy. He made me feel special."

"If you didn't love him why were you so hurt …"

"Because he betrayed me with my cousin. I … when he left me it wasn't just a slap in my face. I had slept with him for two years, basically becoming what I thought he and my family wanted. We were close. He was my best friend. Once he left me not only was I embarrassed I also had to face some things I didn't want to about myself. Then when I phased and my father died … I had so much pain inside me it was easy to forget about the attractions I had felt and instead focus on the pain. The betrayal, the grief, it was easier than focusing on truths about myself."

Winter took what Leah said without speaking at first.

"So why are you telling me this? I'm glad you have but you didn't lie. You didn't have to tell me this."

"I just want you to know, that after learning about you, your life, the life your sister had, Bella's friendship. I get it. I also want you to know I would have fallen in love with you regardless of the imprint. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. I just wanted you to know that."

Winter said nothing. She didn't have to.

A weight had been lifted from her soul.

"Leah can I kiss you?"

"Yeah."

Winter closed her eyes and gently touched her lips to Leah's. The simple kiss turned into something much, much more. After a few minutes Winter pulled back and both caught their breaths.

"Thank you Winter."

"I think I should be thanking you." Winter told her and caressed her cheek. "Let's get ready. I need to go to the forwarding base and check in. See what the plan is for today."

"Can I come with you?"

"Anywhere. You never have to ask."

_Forwarding Base, La Push_

"I'm telling you Ty, it would work." Jason argued.

"Armor? You want us to have suits of armor?"

"Vampires wouldn't be able to break them."

"You know how heavy those damn things would be? How hard it would be to aim a rifle? I mean think about it. How the hell are we supposed to move in this imaginary shit you have planned?"

"We could make it lightweight."

"Bullshit. It's metal. A damn clip of bullets weighs twice what a normal clip weighs. It would slow us down."

"We wouldn't need to be fast. I'm pretty sure if those nerds can come up with the Auroras they can come up with Laser rifles. I mean think about it. We could burn vampires from the inside and never worry about reloading."

"That's the dumbest shit I ever heard. You need to quit reading all those sci fi books fool."

"It could work." Connolly mumbled.

In his head he admitted it was probably a dumb idea.

Webb walked up with two new men.

"Connolly, Ty, this is Frank Cameron and Ray Ryan. They are the pilots you requested. I have spoken to them and both are on board."

"Cameron and Ryan? You two got call signs?"

"Yes sir. I'm Diamondback and this is Twister." Cameron informed him.

"Twister? Like the sex game?" Connolly asked.

"No … like the tornado?"

"Sex game?" Ty asked.

"Yeah you and your lady oil up and get the mat with the colors out. Start spinning the wheel and trying to stay in contact with whatever color you have. Rub certain parts together? You know what I'm talkin bout?"

"Connolly that isn't a sex game. It's a kid's game." Webb explained.

"Are you sure? It seems like it worked great as a sex game."

"What the hell did you and Bella do at that motel?" Ty asked.

"We didn't play naked Twister with baby oil if that is what you are asking. That's all I can say for now. I haven't exactly cleared it with her if that shit is classified or not."

"You are Jason Connolly? The commanding officer of this unit?" Cameron asked, doubtfully.

"Yep and your call signs aren't going to work. Especially yours Twister. It will distract me every time someone calls for you. From now on you Cameron are Maverick and you are Goose, Ryan."

"Sir? We are given call signs in flight school and…"

"You gentleman have seen our transports correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Have you seen the two single pilot fighters we have developed in Nevada that you will be flying to provide air support for this unit?"

"Yes sir."

"Are those fighters not every pilot's wet dream?"

"Yes sir they are." Cameron agreed.

"Then do you want to fly them or do I need to find two more pilots who don't mind being called Maverick and Goose?"

"Call me Maverick sir." Cameron replied immediately.

"Good man. What about you Naked Twister?"

"Uh, can I at least be called Iceman?"

Connolly took a moment and looked at Webb and Ty. Both nodded.

"Fair enough. Welcome aboard Ice. Enough of that sir shit. Call me Jason or Connolly. We are a team of unprofessional professionals. Have you been briefed and caught up to date on what we will be facing?"

"Yes sir." both replied.

"Good. Ty why don't you introduce them to everyone? Use their call signs so there is no confusion. There are three women on the team. Two carry swords. One is my girlfriend and the other is gay so lay off both of them. The other is a black widow Israeli assassin. Go ahead and try your luck if you want to. Your dick. No one else is stupid enough to go after her."

The two pilots walked off leaving Webb alone with Connolly.

"Where are the two wonder twins?"

"With Hawk practicing with RPGs. Duds, so we don't cause undo curiosity, much to Bella's consternation."

"When do you think they are going to return?"

Webb didn't have to say who they were.

"I figured they have learned by now that their guard and spy aren't coming back. It should be a matter of a day or so. We have eyes on the castle. They won't make a move without us knowing about it. If they take a few more days I may have Bella give Aro a call and bait him. I want to keep the illusion that she is with a coven as long as possible."

"Don't think that is going to work Connolly." Vivian's sweet voice broke through the com.

"Why is that Vivian?"

"You said you wanted to know everything the Volturi were doing? They just bought two transport choppers from a black market arms dealer along with over one hundred automatic rifles."

Connolly and Webb stared at each other for a moment.

"Thank you Vivian. Webb, gather the team for a meeting. Everyone, wolves and vampires included. Looks like these fuckers want to make things interesting."


	19. Chapter 19

A/N Sorry. I know. I honestly didn't expect the website and work to both keep me as busy as they have. Judging by the number of members we have (nearly 500) I am betting a lot of you have joined and I thank you. I am writing, but with two originals, Chasing Bella and this story, a Halloween original one shot that will possibly become a story involving Bo Walker from Fresh Start and editing Whirlwind and adding content and editing a Fresh Start things have been crazy. What started out as a little place for me to write originals if anybody wanted to stop in and new writers to try it out has blown up on me and I'm loving it. We have also become a safe haven for writers whose works were deleted off this site, established writers I have asked and been kind enough to post their works and new writers. Members are also starting to use their own blogs as writing exercises and I get to use it as an outlet for my sarcasm in general. I also interviewed two of my children and found that my daughter believes I haven't really made it in life since whatever I write isn't in Barnes and Nobles and my son thinks I could make fun of people dying in a car wreck (I wouldn't). Anyway without further ado I bring you the next chapter of Blood and Steel.

Chapter 19

Connolly sat with Bella and Winter by his side, gazing at the assembled team. Included were the wolves and vampires and Chris Jennings who had arrived an hour ago.

"So what's the play boss?" Ty asked. All eyes were on Connolly.

That was the question.

"Please tell me you don't want to pull an Alamo?" Winter whined.

"You know about the Alamo?" Jason asked surprised.

"I looked up a few things when you talked about San Jacinto. I have no desire to hole up and wait for these fuckers to come at us. Just remember the Alamo was a lost battle."

"Okay the only reason the Texans lost the Alamo was because I wasn't there. Second the Texians had a 3 to 1 kill ratio. Considering they were using muzzle loaders that is an amazing number. But don't worry, staying back and defending is not in my nature."

"Thank God." Mina whispered. "Everything about this place is vampire heaven."

"Yes it is." Garrett agreed. Jasper also had to agree. Although they would be at full strength the vampires would be outnumbered.

"Look they may have two transport copters and a lot of weapons but that doesn't mean shit. They can't fly two choppers from Italy to here. They need a transport plane, avery large one. Vivian is looking for the one they plan to use." Jason reminded the team.

"They could use a ship." Peter pointed out.

"If they are buying that many automatic weapons this soon they won't want to wait. They will want to strike quickly." Connolly said..

"So what? We attack them when they land?" Webb asked.

"Fuck no. We attack them before they take off. They think we are here waiting for them and have no idea that they know about us. They are going to attack at night and use the trees to their advantage. They may know about Bella and Winter. They might know about the wolves and vampires. But they do not know that we can be anywhere in the world in a matter of a few hours. That is our advantage."

"We have talked about the dangers of raiding that castle." Jasper reminded him.

"Exactly. So we wait until they leave for the airport Major. Then you are going to take the vamps, the wolves who go with us, Jake, Leah, Embry and Quil, and raid that castle with Bella and Winter. You shouldn't meet much resistance. While you are taking the castle, my men …"

Mina cleared her throat.

"My team will take the airport and destroy the Guard."

"Bullshit. There will be at least 50 vampires." Garrett pointed out.

"Yep. But they won't have weapons in hand. We bring the Aurora's in and blow them to hell once they are inside the plane before it takes off. We take out the ones who survive the explosion as they leave the wreckage."

"I'm going with you." Winter told him.

"No you aren't. We need you in that castle. You and Bella. Tell them Chris. Those two need to find out as much as possible about the swords they carry and there may be clues in that castle."

Until this point Chris had said nothing.

"I agree with Winter. Jane will most likely be at the airport. Every gifted vampire they have will be there. You will need Bella covering you."

Jason did not like this idea but agreed Bella would have to be part of the assault.

"Fine, Bella can come and cover us. Winter needs to be at …"

"Jane will be at the airport. If it was your sister who was killed where would you want to be Jason?" Chris asked.

Connolly had nothing.

"I will accompany the wolves and vampires. Your team can return after your battle is complete. The twi…Bella and Winter can search the castle with me at that time. We all can. Until then I will start the search."

"Fine Chris. Bella and Winter stay with us. Jasper will you have enough firepower to take the castle?"

"Yes. Between the four of us and the four wolves, with the castle mostly empty it will be easy."

"What if there are more than we expect at the castle?" Bella asked, a bit annoyed that Jason wanted to keep her from the airport.

"Then we retreat and wait for you guys. I can spread enough confusion and fear to prevent any resistance from coming at us."

"Connolly?"

"Yes Vivian?"

"Got a C-5 landing at a small airport ten miles away from Volterra. Looks like it has been painted but you can't miss that design and size. Same airport the Hueys are at. It must be where they plan to take off from. You want a flight plan?"

"I doubt it would be a legitimate one. Besides I never plan to let that plane leave the ground. Dante and Brody you are going to have to fly us one more time just to get us on the ground. Ice and Maverick you are taking the fighters. I want that runway constantly strafed from north and south. We attack from East and West. I want no escape routes. Blow the plane the second the Volturri are in it."

"You know we can actually make sure we can blow it ourselves as a fail safe." Ty pointed out. Connolly smiled.

"You boys up for a little baking party?"

"Hell yes mate. We wire the plane and hit the detonator as the fighters make their bombing runs. There may not be much left for us to kill." Clive agreed enthusiastically.

"Okay, sounds good. Everybody on board?"

Hearing no disagreements Connolly addressed the next concern.

"Oak Island? Can we trust this Emmett character Jasper?"

"Yes." Jasper said it with such certainty Connolly did not pursue the line of questioning.

"Okay, one more guy to get on board."

Vivian made the connection. Rather than coming through the com devices the President of the United States answered on a speaker phone in the middle of the table the team was gathered around.

"What do you got Connolly?"

"Good to hear from you as well sir."

"Sorry but I know you don't call to bullshit. What is wrong?"

Connolly outlined the vampires knowledge and his plan to not only take out the Volturi but to take possession of the castle.

"Jason I cannot authorize a military attack on Italian soil. You understand this correct?"

"Completely Mr. President. Have a nice day."

"You too Commander."

The call ended.

"So lets get ready to move people. I want to be ten kilometers outside Volterra to the west of the airport before sundown. I am sure they will take off at night. That means we need to sneak in and wire the plane at twilight. Small window of opportunity. If it doesn't work or can't be done then the fighters will do the work alone."

"I'm confused. Didn't the President just say we couldn't do this?" Peter asked.

"Nope. President said he couldn't authorize it. That means I can't say yeah but I expect you to do this. If he didn't want us to do it he would have said, don't do this."

"Thank you Ty. Like I said, let's move people."

_Five hours later, outside Volterra City, Algherri airport_

Connolly looked over his team. They were hunched down in a meadow with waist high grass. The sun was scheduled to set in forty five minutes. On the ground was a crudely drawn sketch of the objective.

Bella did not recognize the man he had turned into since they landed. She had slept with him and made love to him every night and sometimes more for the past months. She had fallen in love with him deeply and enjoyed being in his presence. His irreverent attitude and sense of humor brightened her days and nights and drove away the nightmares that once haunted her.

Since they landed he was different. Gone was the wild, seemingly reckless leader of the team that she had known. This time he was serious. He planned to lead his team against the most dangerous vampire coven in history and took nothing for granted. She thought back to the final orders he had given his team before they landed.

"Ladies and gentleman today we are on our own. No vampires, no wolves, just us and our weapons, the way God intended, about to destroy an ancient evil. Each one of us has been put on this earth and given a terrible gift to use against creatures like those we are about to destroy. No matter what the numbers we face, know one thing above all. We are the best. The vampires may have been fighting for the past couple thousand years but I promise you they have never fought anyone like us. We are the most dangerous bastards God ever created and we are meant to be here.

Standing orders of the day. We do not back down. There will be no holding the line. We attack. If our legs are shot we crawl towards the enemy. We don't stop until every last one of those fuckers is dead. Not one of you has permission to die. To do so would be disobeying direct orders. My orders. The time for games is over. We have lost people to vampires before. I won't let it happen again. Everyone knows your job.

West strike force will be myself, Clive, Mina, and Dante. East strike force is Webb, Hawk, Winter and Brody. King, Gavin and Bella take the air control tower and secure any employees. I want King and Gavin providing sniper support from the top. Bella you need to keep us covered. Stay between the two and fire as you can but do not for one second leave us vulnerable to gifted vampires. I know you won't be directly in the action but this is what the team needs. The bastards are coming from the small parking lot through the private jet entrance and will most likely walk straight up to the transport. Vivian says boxes of weapons, RPGs and the two Hueys are being loaded right now. Once they are in the craft we till time our detonation with the bombing runs. They will feel safe here on their own land. I don't believe they will have weapons in hand but we will assume they do. They could very well recover weapons from the wreckage. They will be torn up and many will be burned to ash but many could also survive, wounded. Be prepared to exchange fire. We will use the ground for cover, not a whole lot other we move in we can find wreckage if we need cover. Everybody understand?"

A chorus of yes sirs rose from the group, even Mina, the least military of the group.

On landing a mile away from the airport, the wolves, vampires and Chris quickly departed to prepare for their assault on the castle. The humans took their places.

The teams were in position as twilight came upon them. Lying in the tall grass surrounding the runway the men were all but invisible.

King and Gavin had taken the control tower quickly and quietly, the four men inside too surprised to say anything. They offered no resistance, tied by their hands and feet to each other and placed in a corner. Bella lay on top of the tower, rifle in hand if needed, flanked by King and Gavin on either side. She focused on reaching out to her team and feeling her mind connect with theirs. In the grass somewhere waited her love and her best friend who wanted her own revenge.

Dante Youngblood and Jason Connolly crawled through the grass imitating lions stalking prey in the jungles of Africa. Only a small wake from above alerted anyone to their presence. As soon as they were out of the grass the black clad men moved silently in the weakening daylight and reached the landing gear of the large air ship.

Wrapping detonator cords quickly along with shrapnel containers that would rip through a vampire in full power's skin, it was obvious this wasn't the first time the two had done this. Within minutes bombs sat underneath the plane ready to be detonated by the push of a button. Running back to the grass the men crawled to their former positions and waited.

The plan was simple as the best usually were. The men and women who lay in wait knew that the best laid plans only went smoothly until the first blow was made. After that all bets were off.

Two craft hovered in the air out of sight. Sleek fighters the likes of which the world had never seen would do their first battle in Italy of all places.

The team was tense, already tired of waiting. They had fought vampires before and won but all knew the monsters they were about to engage were the ultimate target. Without the Volturi vampires would be weaker. This was the enemy that had to be taken out. The castle had to be taken. Not one of these vampires could be allowed to leave this battleground alive.

"Movement from the castle. Four, no six limos, are heading towards your location. Say ten minutes out."

The lack of Vivian's trademark sarcasm let everyone know how serious a situation this was. No one was more aware than the man leading this assault. He pushed out thoughts of the men he had lost, not only in Mexico but in the Middle East before. War left casualties and nothing was ever easy. Jason Connolly knew this.

Ten minutes later Gavin spoke into the com.

"They have arrived. Ah shit. We got a problem." he whispered.

"Problem?"

"Looks like they brought snacks." King explained quietly.

Humans. The bastards had humans with them.

"They look willing?" Connolly asked.

"If by willing you mean scared to death with their hands tied behind their backs then yeah." Ty answered.

Damn it.

It could never be simple could it?

"How many people we talking about?"

"Ten." King replied.

Fuck.

"Maverick, Ice, do not, I repeat do not, commence the bombing run. Stay back until I say so. When you come I want the sky lit up with UVs. Copy?"

"Copy sir."

"Jack?"

"Yeah Jay?"

"Any ideas?"

"I'm just glad I'm not going to have to make this decision."

Thanks for the help, Connolly thought.

The sun had set.

"Where are they positioned Ty?"

"Right now, they are surrounded by these fuckers, right in the middle."

"Bella when they come out get a bead on one. King and Gavin take the closet two. Once they fire, we break cover and attack. No friendly fire guys. Hit what you aim for. If we catch them by surprise we can give the hostages a chance to escape. Be aware they may have weapons on them. Majority are in the plane but prepare for the worst. Staggered formation, guns constantly firing, constantly moving, just like the desert boys."

The Volturi walked out onto the tarmac. At least fifty vampires dressed in all different apparel and all cloaked in blood red robes. They looked like ghosts floating across the ground as opposed to the humans shuffling in the middle.

"On my count. On engage Maverick and Ice you turn it to daylight out there. One… two… engage."

The Seals stood up as Bella, Ty and Ian opened fire from the towers. Three vampires near the humans, three middle aged women and seven men ranging from their twenties to late forties, fell, their heads exploding into balls of fire. Three more shots rang out and two more fell. Bella fired a third time and hit her target this time, a beautiful female with long black hair. Fire rained from both sides of the runway as the Seals advanced in a line.

Caius did not panic. He had not expected the humans to attack here but like everything in battle he had prepared for this contingency.

"Open fire!"

The vampires, each pulled a handgun from under their robes and began returning fire at the Seals in the open.

Until the sky lit up and all felt themselves growing weaker. Their eyesight not as sharp, their strength ebbing, Caius looked up and saw two spacecraft, hovering high above the scene of the battle, bathing the area in artificial daylight.

The human hostages panicked and ran. Two were shot in the back by errant shots from the Volturi guard.

"Move to the aircraft!" Caius ordered. He knew he needed the weapons inside. Small arms would not do in their weakened state against automatic weapons.

The Volturi moved, those not already lying on the ground in flames. Humans ran in panic into the fields causing the team to stop firing.

A bullet struck Webb in the lower abdomen just under his body armor. He fell to the ground, and the vampire who had shot charged him, a rather large individual.

He was met by a tackle from Dan Hawk. The two stood and faced one another.

Felix aimed his weapon only to have it kicked out of his hand by the big man. Charging him, he was surprised to see Hawk duck, until he felt his legs swept from beneath him. Felix tried to rise only to feel Hawk's large arms around his head. He heard a snap and felt nothing more, not even the round Hawk put in his head.

"You must not be a fan of Bruce Lee." Hawk said more to himself and then rushed to where Jack lay.

Picking him up over his shoulders he ran to the grassy area on the side of the runway and planted Jack on the ground.

"Give me a rifle and I can shoot from here."

"How bad are you hit?"

"Give me a fucking rifle!"

Hawk handed Webb his rifle and turned back into the fray as Webb forced himself into a sitting position.

Connolly continued firing and advancing, Brody arriving at his side. A man had gotten off the ground and ran towards him.

Connolly saw the vampire aim and knew he would strike the hostage in his back. Stepping in front he took the round in his left shoulder, returning fire with his right arm.

Winter rushed into the battle, sword already drawn. Bella noticed her as she, Ty and King constantly picked off targets on the ground.

Bella reached out and felt Winter. Jane stared.

Jane panicked when she saw she could not stop the twin of the one she had slain before.

"Fuckin RPG! Time to go." Gavin yelled. He and King ran to the rooftop entrance and dove into the doorway as Bella jumped from the front of the tower, landing deftly on the ground a second before the explosion. Clive and Mina joined her and they continued firing, into the mass, planning to take the plane where the RPG had come from.

Bella glanced at the battles going on around her. It was madness. Men standing with no cover firing weapons. She could hear not only the gun blasts but almost hear the bullets whizzing through the air.

She saw Winter and Jane engaged in battle. She had confidence in Winter. Jane was barely avoiding her sword and it was only a matter of time before Winter had …

Bella saw the other witch twin, Alec, aim his gun at Winter.

Bella ran.

Stepping into the line of fire, she was too late. Alec let loose a barrage of gunfire.

Time seemed to slow down. Bella actually felt the bullets. Without thought her sword was in her hand and she was slicing the air, blocking four bullets cutting one of them in half.

The fifth one hit her in left thigh ripping through the muscle and bone underneath. She hit the ground, but had enough sense to pull her sidearm, as yet unused and fire once, striking Alec in the head and ending his existence. Jane saw and screamed a split second before Winter's sword entered the top of her head and continued down, cutting her body in half.

Carnage reigned.

Until Connolly gave the order.

"Back away from the plane now! Fall back!"

Fall back? The team knew they never fell back. Even outnumbered they were the superior force.

"Broken arrow boys! Dante pull the trigger!"

Bella was only feet from the plane. Winter attempted to grab her and take her to safety until both found themselves in Dan Hawk's arms being carried away.

"Time to go ladies."

Less than five seconds later both ladies felt the heat behind them, but Hawk never stopped moving. He was behind the tower and fell on top of both of them.

The explosives detonated under the plane and the two Auroras opened fire dropping hellfire missiles into the Galaxy.

The firearms and ammo inside plus the fuel tanks which had to be full, caused an explosion of epic proportions.

Mina, Clive and Brody came around one end of the tower while Ty and King came around the other, firing into the fireball, turning it into a vampire shredding cloud of destruction. Connolly out in the open when the order was given was struck in the head by a sheet of metal in the plane. His skull cracked and he hit the ground. One lone vampire tried to reach for him, and was simultaneously shot by Webb and Gavin.

The roar of the explosion gone, the runway was still hot enough to melt steel. Gavin and Clive ran into the heat and retrieved two humans who had hit the ground and whose clothes were now burning. Brody grabbed another and began dragging the three away while beating at their garments to snuff out the flames.

"Head count!" Gavin yelled.

The team checked in one by one. Gavin checked in for Bella whose leg was bent at an unnatural angle. The bullet must have broken her femur on its way through and was most likely still lodged inside.

All checked in except Connolly and Webb.

"Vivian find my boys!"

"I can't … see through the smoke and fire from satellites."

"Webb is in the opposite field. He took a shot in the abdomen and is losing blood. I don't know where Connolly is." Hawk told Ty who had suddenly become commander of the team.

Ty didn't hesitate, running towards the burnt plane.

Hawk and King ran beside him and broke off in the direction of Webb.

Ty waved smoke around, trying to get his bearings. The purple smoke of burning vampire bodies, the burning jet fuel all over the runway and scatted debris, made finding anything difficult.

He stumbled over two bodies that had been shot in the opening exchange. Checking pulses he found them both dead and continued to call for Connolly.

"I know where he is. My sister does. To your left Ty, twenty yards. He is down. I can see him." Winter yelled over the com.

When Ty found Connolly he thought his long time friend and brother may be dead. Blood poured from his shoulder and the top of his skull. It looked like he had a shot in the ankle and a few pieces of sharp metal had buried themselves in his other leg.

"You better not die on me you stupid son of a bitch. Calling in an airstrike when you are that close. Auroras! Get back to the transports and and bring them here now. We got med evac. Anybody got eyes on Webb?"

"He is losing a lot of blood. I think I have it controlled but he needs a surgeon." Hawk said through the com.

"Youngblood, Brody, you ambulatory?"

"Yes sir."

"Hump it to LZ. When our flyboys grab the transports you guys grab the fighters and escort us. First responders will be here soon for the civilians. No way am I sticking around while my people die and explain to a bunch of foreign cops that we started a gang war with some vamps on their land. We need to go, now. Move it people!"

Ty lifted Connolly who did not respond, and throwing him over his shoulders he ran.

The transports landed five minutes later. In that time Bella had saw Connolly and screamed. She tried to move towards him only to find that her leg was very broken and the artery had been severed. The loss of blood caused her to pass out before Winter popped her leg back into place and used her sword to splint it.

Up in the air, the casualties were more obvious. Mina had sustained a wound that had pierced and nearly taken off her ear. Brody had taken several shots to the vest and one was from a distance so close it broke two of his ribs. Ty and King's legs had sustained second degree burns from jumping into the doorway avoiding the RPG but not avoiding the heat of the exploding grenade. Dante was unscathed, as was Clive. Hawk had taken a shot from behind while carrying Webb out of the line of fire. The bullet had traveled through his massive deltoid muscle from behind. Ty pointed out to him that he was bleeding.

"I will bleed later. I don't have time for it now."

Connolly, Webb and Bella seemed to be in the worst shape. Winter unstrapped her splint while Dante and Mina used a rubber bungee cord to tourniquet her leg and try to slow the bleeding.

Connolly had an open head wound on top of his skull, a bullet wound to the shoulder and left leg. A bullet wound near his ankle and his entire body seemed to be covered in first degree burns due to his proximity to the explosion. His pulse was rapid and weak and he had not sustained consciousness.

Bella's leg was resplinted after the tourniquet had been applied. Once the bone was shifted she sat up with a scream. Looking around she saw her family in shambles. Webb and Connolly were on the ground while Ty started IV's for both of them. Hawk was over her, starting an IV.

In the other transport Cilve called the President of the United States.

'Yes Connolly? I understand there was an exploding aircraft at an airport in Italy. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

The President sounded amused. Clive was not.

"This is Barkley. Ty Gavin is now in charge. The Volturi are dead but we have wounded, three in need of immediate surgery. I need a location now Mr. President."

"What are your coordinates?"

"I don't have a fucking clue mate. We just left the airport and we are going …"

"Tell him we are about ten minutes from London." Ice's voice called out.

"Ten minutes from London."

"US Navy hospital ship is at sea near there. Stand by for coordinates. I will have an Admiral call you back in two minutes." Dave responded no longer in good humor.

"Let him know he is going to need a boatload of secrecy agreements. We are about to land some UFOs on a helicopter pad." Clive told him and ended the call.

As the two transports landed on the US Navy Hospital ship Ty Gavin received a call.

"How you doin Jethro? Please tell me you took that fucking castle."

"Yeah we took it. Wasn't hard. There was only a king named Marcus here who didn't put up a fight and Aro and Caius's wives. They are all taken care of. Seemed kind of easy actually. I guess you guys got Aro?"

Ty thought about the faces he had seen through his scope. In the heat of battle it never occurred to him.

"Actually Jasper I don't think Aro was there. What have you guys found?"

"Nothing so far. Chris was hoping Bella and Winter could make it. Where are you guys?"

Ty flinched when he heard Bella's teeth grit as she was moved from the transport by nurses, her eyes never leaving Connolly's prone form.

"I think Bella and Winter might be busy for a while. Keep lookin and I'll get back to ya."


End file.
